Nov. 5, 2006
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OXFORD, Miss. — The South Carolina volleyball team saw its streak of 18 consecutive wins against Mississippi coame to an end Sunday in Oxford, Miss., by a 3-0 (26-30, 21-30, 25-30) score. The Gamecocks saw their record dip to 12-15 overall and 5-11 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Lady Rebels improved to 16-11 and 7-9 in the league.
USC’s Shonda Cole led all attackers with 18 kills while adding 13 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Belita Salters made nine kills and four blocks, and Lynae Vanden Hull and Meredith Moorhead each tallied five kills. Moorhead also tied a career high with five blocks. Alexcis Thomson recorded 21 assists and Petra Lorenzi had 16.
Jaclyn Toohey led Ole Miss’s offense with 13 kills. Emily Jones had eight and Kristen Carroll and Katie Kramer each had six. Rachel Kieckhaefer made 34 assists and eight digs. Tara Langley dug a match high 16 balls.
South Carolina had a .121 (43-27-132) hitting percentage compared to .238 (43-18-105) for Mississippi. The Lady Rebels out-dug South Carolina 48-40, but the Gamecocks led in blocks 9-5.
The Lady Rebels doubled-up the Gamecocks in game one, 10-5, after a pair of blocks against Cole. South Carolina hung tough and was able to pull within two several times over the next 15 rallies, but Ole Miss eventually pushed the lead to six at 24-18. USC responded by winning five of the following six points to chop the deficit to two, but Carolina would get no closer. The Lady Rebels had an answer each time and won the game off two miscues by the Gamecocks.
South Carolina got off to a slow start in game two by losing the first five points. After a timeout, the Gamecocks began slowly creep back into the match. Down 15-12, USC ran off four points in a row capped by a kill from Cole to lead for the first time on the afternoon. The rest of the stanza, however, was dictated by Mississippi, as it won 15 of the next 20 rallies to go up 2-0 at the intermission.
The score was tied 7-all in the third game before Ole Miss went on a 5-0 run. Mississippi was able to run its advantage to as many as seven, the last of which was at 29-22. The Gamecocks won the next three rallies before Vanden Hull went up for an attack and hit the ball beyond the baseline for the match’s final point.
The Gamecocks will play four of their final five regular-season matches at home, beginning Friday against Kentucky at 7 p.m. in the Volleyball Competition Facility. South Carolina then takes on Tennessee two days later at 2 p.m. in a match to be televised by CSS. Sunday also will be Senior Day, as the Gamecocks honor Cole, Thomson, Vanden Hull, Crystal Johnson and Iris Santos.
