Sept. 8, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball returns to action this weekend as the Gamecocks travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the GlaxoSmithKline Volleyball Classic, Sept. 9-10. USC (4-0) will open the tournament on Friday against Coastal Carolina (2-2) at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Gamecocks will play Purdue (5-0) at 12:30 p.m. and North Carolina (2-2) at 7:30 p.m.

With their best start since 2002, the Gamecocks are hoping to improve their record and aim for a second tournament title this season. USC claimed the FSU Tournament championship last weekend as they posted wins over Pitt, FSU and Mercer. Shonda Cole was named MVP while Iris Santos and Lynae Vanden Hull earned all-tournament berths.

The Gamecocks have a combined record of 14-13 against the three teams. USC leads the series against Coastal 6-0 and Purdue, 2-0. In the UNC series, the Tar Heels lead 13-6. South Carolina’s last meeting against Coastal was in 1998, while the last meeting against the Boilermakers was in 2001. In the past four years, the Gamecocks have met the Tar Heels six times and are 2-4. USC’s last win over UNC was a 3-1 victory in 2003 in Columbia.

Coastal Carolina has posted wins over The Citadel and most recently, Northeastern. The Chanticleers two losses came at the hands of Idaho and Loyola Marymount. Katherine Jensen, who is averaging 4.42 kills per game, leads CCU in kills.

The Boilermakers enter the tournament with a perfect record and clinched the title at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif. last weekend. En route to the championship, Purdue defeated St. Louis, Bradley and Pacific. Setter Renata Dargan was named tournament MVP and leads the Boliermakers in attack percentage with .512 and 230 assists.

Camilla Ihenetu leads UNC with 3.73 kills per game and Christie Clark leads with 1.53 blocks per game. The Tar Heels are coming off of a 3-2 loss to San Francisco at the USF/Powerade Asics Classic.

All matches can be followed live via Gametracker on uscsports.com. The USC vs. Purdue match can be hear live via Internet audio cast on either uscsports.com or purduesports.com.