Sept. 30, 2006

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ON TAP THIS WEEK

Match #17: South Carolina (10-6, 3-2) vs. Alabama (8-6, 3-2)
Oct. 1 • Columbia, S.C. • 1:30 p.m.
Live Stats: • Radio/Audio: • TV/Video: None

ABOUT THE WEEK

SETTING THE SCENE: With coach Nancy Somera collecting her 100th career victory at Georgia on Wednesday, the South Carolina Gamecocks (10-6, 3-2 SEC) now look to get her No. 101 when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide (8-6, 2-2 SEC) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. USC snapped a six-match losing streak to the Bulldogs when it blanked them 3-0 in Athens, Ga., marking its first win in the series since 2002. Alabama began SEC play with a 2-0 record with wins against Mississippi and Mississippi State, but dropped a pair of road contests at Auburn and Florida. Versus Georgia on Friday, Alabama recorded a 3-1 victory.

SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST TIME OUT: South Carolina rebounded from its two road losses at LSU and Arkansas with a 3-0 (30-22, 30-28, 30-16) triumph at Georgia on Wednesday. Shonda Cole paced the Gamecocks with 18 kills on 40 attempts and hit .400 thanks to just six errors. Marija Milosevic reached double figures in kills for the seventh time in 2006 with 14 and she hit .407 (14-3-27). Ivana Kujundzic tallied a career high with eight kills and she tied her career best with six blocks. Iris Santos had 39 assists, five kills and seven digs. Carolina finished the match with a .393 hitting percentage (55-13-107), while Georgia recorded a .194 figure (37-16-108). It was South Carolina’s second-highest hitting percentage this season. The Gamecocks out-dug the Bulldogs 43-33 and had eight blocks to Georgia’s five.

LAST TIME THEY MET: South Carolina and Alabama last met on Nov. 13, 2005, in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks trailed 2-0 heading into the intermission and managed to win the next three games for their first and only five-game win of the season. Three Gamecocks reached double figures in kills, led by Marija Milosevic’s 18. Shonda Cole had 15 and Nicole Miller banged out 10. Milosevic and Miller posted double-doubles as well with 10 digs apiece. Iris Santos also had a double-double with 48 assists and 10 digs. USC’s win snapped a string of five straight losses to Alabama dating back to the 2002 campaign.

THE ALABAMA SERIES: Alabama owns a 15-12 advantage in the all-time series with South Carolina. Prior to last year’s victory, the Gamecocks had dropped five consecutive matches to the Crimson Tide, with four of them being shutouts. Carolina has won seven straight at home against Alabama, with its last loss coming on Oct. 11, 1992, by a 3-2 score. Since South Carolina joined the Southeastern Conference in 1991, the two teams have split their 22 meetings.

NOTEWORTHY

MISSISSIPPI MATCH TIME CHANGED: South Carolina’s Oct. 13 match with Mississippi was changed from a 7 to 6 p.m. start. The change was made to accomodate Hardwood Hoopla with the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which begins at 8:30 p.m. or immediately following the volleyball match.

CONFERENCE & NATIONAL ACCOLADES FOR COLE: Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole’s 36- and 35-kill performances against Auburn and Florida on Sept. 15 and 17 not only earned her SEC Offensive Player of the Week, but American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week as well. Cole is the first Gamecock in school history to receive the national weekly accolade from the AVCA. Cole added 18 and 17 digs in the matches as well for her second and third double-doubles in 2006.

NOTING THE FLORIDA WIN: South Carolina’s win over Florida on Sept. 17 in Columbia, S.C., snapped a 25-match losing streak to the Gators and marked just its second win against Florida since joining the SEC in 1991. USC’s last win against Florida came on Nov. 13, 1994.

South Carolina handed Florida just its fifth regular-season SEC loss since coach Mary Wise took over the program in 1991. USC is one of only three teams in the league to defeat Wise during the regular season, as Tennessee owns a pair of wins (2004, 2005) and LSU has one (1991).

Florida is the highest-ranked team South Carolina has defeated since the American Volleyball Coaches Association first began its poll in 1982.

South Carolina’s 82 kills versus Florida tied for fourth in school history in a four-game match.

WINS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: South Carolina owns eight all-time victories against ranked opponents. The highest-ranked team South Carolina has defeated came this season when it knocked off then-No. 6 Florida by a 3-1 score in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks have played a total of 74 matches in their history against ranked teams.

NOTING COLE’S NUMBERS: Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole’s current 6.02 kills per game average leads the SEC and is second in the nation. If Cole finished the season with the same average, it would rank as the 14th-best mark in NCAA history since rally scoring was adopted in 2001.

At her current pace, Cole would break the school record for kills in a season, which is 553 by Lori Rowe in 1983, and kills per game, which is 4.22 by Rowe in 1983 as well. Should Cole continue her average of over 22 kills each match, she would finish the regular season with 722. If she reached that figure it would rank No. 12 in NCAA history under rally scoring.

THOMSON CAN DIG IT: Senior libero Alexcis Thomson tallied a career high with 26 digs at Arkansas on Sept. 24. It also was the most digs by a Gamecock since Yajaira Cadet totaled 30 at North Carolina in a 2002 NCAA Tournament second-round match. Thomson leads the team in digs (213) and digs per game (3.49) this season. Both figures are already single-season highs for her. She has reached double digits in the digs category 10 times in 2006 and had at least 10 in eight of Carolina’s last 10 contests.

LOTS OF COURT TIME: Through 16 matches this year, the Gamecocks have played five matches that went the distance. USC had five in all of 2005 and just three five-game matches in 2004. The most five-game matches in one season for South Carolina is nine, which happened in 1992.

ORANGE CRUSH: By knocking off Florida on Sept. 17 this season, South Carolina managed to post victories against the Gators and the Clemson Tigers in the same year for the first time since 1990. USC has now defeated Florida and Clemson in the same year a total of six times. On Oct. 6, the Gamecocks will have a chance to accomplish something they have never done before, which is defeat Clemson, Florida and Tennessee all in the same season.

SHE CAN DO IT ALL: Setter Iris Santos is perhaps one of the most versatile players in school history. In 2005, she became the first Gamecock to record at least 200 kills, 200 digs and 500 assists in a single season. During her career at South Carolina, she has played virtually every position except middle blocker. Santos also is one of only nine Gamecocks to rack up at least 1,000 assists during her career. With 471 career kills, Santos is set up to become only the second player in USC history with at least 1,000 assists and 500 kills. The other was Ashley Edlund, who accumulated a record 5,177 assists and 517 kills. Santos had the distinction of posting two triple-doubles last season within less than a week of each other against North Carolina (14 kills, 40 assists, 13 digs) and Houston (12 kills, 57 assists, 13 digs). She came close to picking up her third career triple-double this season against Western Carolina with seven kills, 32 assists and 13 digs. Santos leads the team in double-doubles this season with six.

TOP GAMECOCK: Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole is the only South Carolina player to train with USA Volleyball and will finish among the top five in career kills, attacks and kills per game at USC. Cole is currently ranked second in school history for kills with 1,433. Her 4.04 career kills per game ranks first, and Cole’s 3,360 attacks is the third-best mark at USC.

Cole broke a nearly 23-year-old record in the Gamecocks’ second match of the 2006 season against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. She ripped 37 kills against the Horned Frogs to break the previous single-match standard of 32 that was set by Lori Rowe against Louisville on Oct. 28, 1983.

Cole’s current 6.02 kills per game average is tops in the SEC and second in the nation. She led the nation in kills per game for two weeks in September.

Cole’s five 30-kill matches this year leads the nation. Prior to this season, only one 30-kill match had been recorded in the history of South Carolina volleyball.

Cole’s 35 kills against Florida set a school record for a four-game match. Oddly enough, the old record of 28 by Amy Iannoccari came against Florida on Nov. 13, 1994, which was the last time USC defeated the Gators prior to this season’s win when Cole had 35.

A FAMILY AFFAIR: Head coach Nancy Somera is in her second season with South Carolina. Her top assistant, Ben Somera, also is her husband and coached alongside her at Oregon State before the couple decided to move to Columbia. The Someras are not alone at the NCAA Division I level as a husband-wife coaching duo, as others include Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli and associate head coach John Corbelli, and Missouri head coach Wayne Kreklow and associate head coach Susan Kreklow.

BYE-BYE SEC TOURNAMENT: The SEC is no longer holding a post-season conference tournament to decide which school receives the league’s automatic NCAA berth. Instead, a double round-robin format during the regular season will decide the champion, giving each team 20 conference matches (Vanderbilt does not sponsor volleyball). The SEC first sponsored volleyball and a post-season tournament in 1979.

ALL-TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES: Seniors Shonda Cole and Iris Santos were both named to the TCU Molten/La Quinta Invitational All-Tournament Team in Fort Worth, Texas, following a 3-1 weekend for the Gamecocks. Cole racked up 82 kills in four matches, averaging 5.86 kills per game and hitting .408 (82-20-152). She also led the team in blocks with a per game average of 1.21 and dug 2.29 balls. Santos put up 12.15 assists, 1.15 kills, 1.54 digs and 0.85 blocks per game in USC’s four contests.

Cole earned MVP honors at the Big Orange Bash in Clemson, S.C., after leading the Gamecocks to the tournament title with a 4-0 record. Cole averaged 5.93 kills while hitting .381 (83-24-155) and adding 1.71 digs and 0.64 blocks. She ripped 36 kills in USC’s 3-2 victory against Clemson. Santos made the all-tourney squad in Clemson as well with 11.20 assists, 1.40 kills, 2.67 digs and 0.60 blocks. Sophomore Belita Salters also made the team, a first for her career. She averaged 1.86 kills and 0.86 blocks while hitting .353 (26-8-51) over the course of the tournament.

The Gamecock Invitational saw Cole earn her third consecutive all-tournament honor. She averaged 5.69 kills per game during the tournament and had matches of 32 and 25 kills against St. John’s and Florida State to lead South Carolina.

A BUSY SCHEDULE: The Gamecocks have 32 regular-season matches scheduled for 2006, which is the most since 1991 when USC had 36. South Carolina played its most matches in one season in 1977 with 56, the same year it posted a record 47 victories. The 32 matches is nothing new for coach Nancy Somera, as her Oregon State teams played the same amount in 2000 and 2003.

At the Big Orange Bash tournament in Clemson, S.C., South Carolina played the host Tigers at 7 p.m. on a Thursday and then played at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. the next day, giving the Gamecocks three matches in less than 24 hours.

THE SEC ON TV: Five Southeastern Conference matches will be featured on SEC TV for the 2006 season. SEC TV consists of FOX Sports Net South, FOX Sports Net Southwest and Sunshine Network. South Carolina is one of eight teams from the league that will appear in at least one match on the network, playing Mississippi State on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.

TV ADDED FOR TENNESSEE HOME MATCH: South Carolina’s Sunday, Nov. 12, match with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers will be televised by Comcast/Charter Sports SouthEast. The start time was changed from 1:30 to 2 p.m. as well.

SOMERA REACHES 100: USC head coach Nancy Somera earned her 100th career victory this season when the Gamecocks downed Georgia 3-0 in Athens, Ga., on Sept. 27. Somera owns a 100-118 record over eight seasons. At South Carolina, Somera has accumulated a 23-20 mark in two years and is 274-182 in her 16 seasons of collegiate coaching.

GO WITH YOUR INSTINCTS: When coaches Nancy and Ben Somera decided to take over the South Carolina volleyball program, they were able to convince setter Petra Lorenzi to come with them. The Someras recruited Lorenzi while working at Oregon State and Lorenzi enrolled at South Carolina after finishing her high school career at Del Norte in Crescent City, Calif.

PLENTY OF IN-STATE TALENT: Five of South Carolina’s 14 players hail from the Palmetto State. The most tenured of the group is junior middle blocker Crystal Johnson (Camden, Camden H.S.), followed by sophomore middle blocker Belita Salters (Scranton, Lake City H.S.). Three of the Gamecocks’ five newcomers are from South Carolina, with Channing Cantrell (Pickens, Pickens H.S.), Sarah Cline (Rock Hill, Northwestern H.S.) and Christine Hauer (Aiken, Aiken H.S.).

HER NUMBERS ARE HARD TO BEAT: Coach Nancy Somera put up some impressive numbers during her playing days at Southern California from 1985 to 1988. She is ranked sixth in career kills (1,534), eighth in kills per game (3.65), third in attacks (3,984), third in digs (1,536), third in digs per game (3.66) and first in aces (170) and aces per game (0.41).

USC’S NCAA HISTORY: South Carolina made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1984 after it won the Metro Conference Tournament. The Gamecocks’ other bids came in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002. The Garnet & Black has made it as far as the second round of the tournament four times, coming in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2002.

PAGING DOCTOR JOHNSON, DOCTOR THOMSON: While junior middle blocker Crystal Johnson still has one year of eligibility remaining after this season, she is not planning on using it. Instead, Johnson will graduate and plans to enter medical school. Senior defensive specialist Alexcis Thomson also has plans to attend medical school after this season.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Gamecocks received a vote in this season’s AVCA preseason poll and received votes after upending then-No. 6 Florida. South Carolina is hoping to get back into the top 25 this season, a place it has not been since Dec. 2, 2002, when the team held a No. 24 national billing. USC’s best ranking is 17th, which came on Oct. 1, 2001.

DEAD BUG!: The South Carolina volleyball team has a rule that if someone yells the words “dead bug” all members of the team must drop to the ground, lie on their backs and shake their arms and legs around like a dead bug. The last person to do so is charged with doing something embarrassing as determined by the team. One of the recent victims, freshman outside hitter Meredith Moorhead, had to stand in front of a Clemson crowd in the hotel lobby prior to USC’s match with Western Carolina on Sept. 2 in Clemson, S.C., and entice the crowd into a cheer for the Gamecocks. Clemson was hosting Florida Atlantic in football that day. Moorhead’s teammates were nice enough to at least help the freshman by participating in the cheer as well.

LOOKING TO GET BACK ON TRACK: South Carolina is looking to end its streak of three consecutive losing seasons in 2006. The Gamecocks ended on a positive note in 2005 with three straight victories, one of which came against NCAA Tournament squad Alabama. USC was a combined 37-47 (.440) from 2003 to 2005 after going 187-82 (.695) from 1994 to 2002.

JOHNSON’S BLOCK PARTY: Junior middle blocker Crystal Johnson shattered her previous career-high for blocks with 13 against St. John’s. The 11 block assists was the second-most in a five-game match in school history, while her 13 total blocks set a new standard for five-gamers. The previous record of 12 by Heather Larkin had stood for nearly 12 years.