Sept. 2, 2005
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Gamecock volleyball improved to 2-0 at the Florida State Tournament Friday night as USC defeated the home team, FSU Seminoles 3-1. In their second upset of the day, South Carolina won 30-21, 22-30, 30-17, 30-23. Shonda Cole led the team with 18 kills and hit .314, while Lynae Vanden Hull followed with 10 kills and hit .226.
“I am really pleased in how we responded after game two competitively,” said head coach Nancy Somera. ” That was a huge motivation for FSU, being at home and coming back like that. I am glad we stayed very competitive and we figured out a way to get the job done.”
USC took game one very aggressively and held the Seminoles to -.026 hitting as FSU had 11 kills and 12 errors. FSU did not take the loss lightly as they charged back in game two and took the wind out of the Gamecocks. USC managed only eight kills in the game and hit .071.
The Gamecocks continued to improve of keeping the errors down as they recorded 20, five less from the morning match of 25 against Pitt. The Garnet and Black also recorded 19 kills in game four and hit .400 in game three, where only two errors were registered.
USC suffered a blow when senior Lauren Ford went down in game two with an ankle injury. Sophomore Crystal Johnson entered the match and filled in nicely for Ford. Johnson produced several key blocks and her only kill of the match was the final point of the day when USC took game four 30-23 and the match 3-1.
“Crystal Johnson had a very good match tonight. She had a huge block solo in game four when the score was 23-20. That kept the momentum in USC’s favor and that was great to see,” said Somera.
Sarah Morgan had a great defensive match as she recorded 20 digs, tying her career high, which she recorded in 2003. Iris Santos had a strong match as she posted 42 assists, three short of her career high 45, which she set earlier in the day against Pitt.
“There was good distribution by Iris in both matches today,” said Somera. “She is learning how to utilize all of her attackers and not be one dimensional. I thought she did a great job today.”
The Gamecocks wrap up tournament play Saturday afternoon when they face Mercer at 3:30 p.m. A win over Mercer would give the Gamecocks the tournament title. This would mark the first road tournament win for the Gamecocks since 2003 when they won the Shamrock Invitational at Notre Dame. Should USC go 3-0, it would be the first tournament sweep on the road since 2001.
