Sept. 30, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team recorded its first conference win of the season Friday as they defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 3-1. Game scores were 30-19, 23-30, 30-27, 30-20. USC improved to 8-5 and 1-2 in the SEC, while MSU fell to 9-3 and 0-2 in the SEC. Iris Santos led the team in kills with 13 and recorded a double-double with 27 assists.

“We did a nice job managing the emotional side of the match,” said head coach Nancy Somera. “We came out really strong in game one and Mississippi State bounced back and we sort of let that game go. They came out and really settled down and played a nice game. In game three, we started things off pretty good but in the middle, our focus shifted in the wrong direction but we were able to bring it back after everyone calmed down and went back to the basics.”

Shonda Cole hit .367 with 11 kills and for the first time, recorded zero errors. Lauren Ford also had an impressive match as she posted 11 kills and hit a season high .500. Nicole Miller led the team in blocks with two solos and seven assists, for a total of nine, a match high.

The Gamecocks used their power at the net and made smart hitting decisions as blocks and errors were key for the match. USC had 53 kills to MSU’s 59 but recorded only 17 errors to the Bulldogs’ 37. With those numbers, South Carolina hit .277 to MSU’s .140. The Gamecocks also held a strong presence at the net as they out blocked State 15 to 7. USC registered four block solos and 22 assists, while State had two solos and 10 assists.

South Carolina controlled game one and won hands down 30-19. The Gamecocks recorded a match high .444 with 14 kills and two errors. MSU was held to .067. In game two, Mississippi State bounced back and took advantage of USC’s mistakes to even the match 1-1 with a 23-30 score.

Game three could have gone either way but South Carolina stayed on top and pulled out the victory 30-27. Tied 26-26, a kill by Santos put the Gamecocks in the lead and a ball handling error by MSU provided USC a two-point cushion. Rachel Cooper then followed with a kill to bring the Bulldogs back to within one. Santos then came through again for USC and put down a kill for game point. The winning point came on an attack error by Cooper and USC took a 2-1 lead in the match.

In game four, South Carolina shifted into gear and jumped out to a 10-3 lead and eventually led by as much as 11 points at the 28-17 mark. MSU could not get back into the game and USC cruised on to a 30-20 win. A kill by Santos again provided USC match point and a service error by Eva Kriegel sealed the win for the Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks return to action Sunday afternoon when the Ole Miss Rebels come to town for a 1:30 showdown. A free autograph session will be held following the match.