Sept. 1, 2006
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CLEMSON, S.C. – South Carolina’s volleyball team improved to 5-1 Friday morning with a 3-0 (30-27, 30-19, 30-24) victory over Charlotte in the Big Orange Bash tournament in Clemson, S.C. It was the first loss of the season for the 49ers, dropping them to 3-1.
Both squads battled back and forth in the first game, with the score tied 26-all after 52 points. Senior setter Iris Santos came away with a solo block to put the Gamecocks ahead and sophomore outside hitter Marija Milosevic ripped a kill on the next play to give USC a two-point advantage. Santos finished the game off with a kill on a free ball that barely floated over the net.
USC quickly snatched a 5-1 advantage after six rallies in the second game and never looked back. The Gamecocks doubled-up the 49ers at 18-9 following a kill by sophomore middle blocker Belita Salters. Charlotte crept back into the game by winning the next five points, but South Carolina recovered. Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole’s 10th kill and third ace of the match gave Carolina the 11-point game two win.
The Gamecocks trailed 20-19 in game three before outscoring the 49ers 10-5 the rest of the way. Cole gave USC a pair of kills during the run, while Santos and Milosevic each added an ace to help the cause.
Cole led South Carolina in kills with 15 on 29 attempts and she added three aces while committing no service errors. Milosevic tallied eight kills and Salters tossed in six kills to go along with six blocks. Santos finished with 30 assists, eight digs and four blocks.
USC hit at a .253 (40-16-95) clip for the match, compared to .190 (39-20-100) for Charlotte. After 18 services errors last night, the Gamecocks limited themselves to just seven while hitting a dozen aces. The 49ers had six aces and 11 errors.
South Carolina faces Tennessee State today at 2 p.m. in its third match of the Big Orange Bash. The Gamecocks wrap up the event with a 3 p.m. tilt versus Western Carolina on Saturday.
