Oct. 8, 2006
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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The South Carolina volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (27-30, 27-30, 27-30) decision to Kentucky on Sunday in Lexington, Ky., to fall to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats improved to 11-5 and 4-4 in the league.
After USC’s Belita Salters used a kill to tie the score up at 7-7 in game one, the Wildcats went on to win the next five rallies. Kentucky was able to increase its lead to as many as six four times, but South Carolina eventually closed to within two, 23-21, after consecutive hitting errors by UK. The Gamecocks were still down two, 27-25, after Shonda Cole’s seventh kill of the frame, but USC would get no closer. Kentucky setter Sarah Rumely dumped a ball to give her team the first game.
South Carolina fell behind 10-6 in game two after being called for a rotation error on Kentucky’s serve, but the Gamecocks fought back and tied the score 11-11 on a kill by Cole. The two teams continued to battle back and forth, and the game was still tied at 22-all after a UK attack sailed wide. The Wildcats then took control, winning five of the next six points to go up 28-23. Carolina responded with a 4-0 spurt, but the Cats received kills from Melissa Popp and Nicole Britenriker on the next two rallies to lead 2-0 heading into the intermission.
Kentucky managed to build a four-point lead in the third game, 16-12, with an Ashlee Fisher kill. Cole posted a kill and then a service ace to close the gap to 17-16, and USC eventually tied the score 18-18 after Britenriker missed on a hit down the line. The Gamecocks lost the next three points but then won three in a row after a timeout to keep the score tied at 21. Carolina’s Ivana Kujundzic tied the stanza up again, 26-26, with her sixth kill of the match, but Kentucky went on to win four of the final five rallies to hand USC’s its third loss in a row.
Cole notched her sixth double-double of 2006 with 17 kills and 11 digs. Alexcis Thomson dug 15 balls and Iris Santos tallied 37 assists and seven digs. Lynae Vanden Hull totaled nine kills, her highest output since Sept. 2 when she had 11 versus Western Carolina.
USC hit .137 (45-26-139) on the afternoon and Kentucky recorded a .181 figure (50-25-138). The Wildcats out-dug South Carolina 58-50 and had nine blocks to the Gamecocks’ five.
The Gamecocks return home for their next two SEC matches, taking on Mississippi at 6 p.m. on Friday and Mississippi State on Sunday at 1 p.m. The MSU contest can be seen live on SEC-TV.
