Sept. 16, 2007
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Behind Maria Taylor’s 15 kills, the Georgia Bulldogs got their first win in Southeastern Conference play with a 3-0 sweep over South Carolina, 30-26, 30-16, 30-27, in the Volleyball Competition Facility on Sunday afternoon. The Dogs improve to 10-2 on the year and 1-1 in SEC play, while the Gamecocks drop to 7-4, 0-2 in league action.
Freshmen Megan Laughlin and Annie Thomas led the Gamecocks with nine kills each. Junior libero Dinelia Concepcion finished with 13 digs to top the squad.
The Bulldogs’ Maria Taylor ranked as the only player with double-digit kills with her 15. Erika Clark, Lindsay Gehan and Britta Buethe all finished with nine kills. Mara Martin had 14 digs in the contest, while Buethe had 13 and Clark had 11.
Georgia got off to a good start in game one, running out to a 5-1 lead. The Gamecocks responded after a Dani Bedore kill. Five straight points on Laughlin’s serve put the Garnet ahead at 7-5. The teams swapped points until 10-8, when Taylor got her second kill of the match. Valentina Gonzalez followed with back-to-back aces to put Auburn up, 11-10. Each team would go on mini runs until 23-23, when Clark stepped up and got a big kill to put the Bulldogs up. An ace by Renee Johnson followed by a Gamecock attack error gave the Georgia squad the cushion they needed, as the squads traded side-outs till Buethe ended the frame with a spike.
Game two saw the teams swap points until 5-4, when Georgia went on a three-point run on kills by Clark, Taylor and Gonzalez to take a 7-5 advantage. With Georgia up 15-13, Buethe stepped up with a pair of kills to make it a four-point lead. Two more Bulldog points came before freshman Erin Kennedy ended the run at 19-14. But the Red and Black were not done, taking advantage of three consecutive hitting errors by the Gamecocks to go up 23-14. Laughlin stopped that streak, but Georgia came back with five straight points, including the first two from Gehan to nearly close out the frame. Laughlin again stopped the run, this time at 28-16, but two consecutive points for the Bulldogs gave them the game victory. Georgia hit a mind-boggling .680 in the frame, compared to .065 for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks came out with more focus in the third game, eventually taking a 15-8 lead after a pair of kills by Laughlin and an ace from sophomore Sarah Cline. Still up at 18-11, the Bulldogs started their comeback by taking advantage of two hitting errors and a service error by South Carolina. An ace by Taylor and another set error brought Georgia back to 18-16. The Garnet and Black went back up 20-16 before the Bulldogs fought back to within one at 20-19. After swapping side-outs, the Gamecocks went back up 24-20 on a set error and an attack error by Georgia and a block assist by Laughlin and Bedore. But the Bulldogs continued clawing, eventually tying the match on a solo block by Lindsay Gehan. A service error gave the Gamecocks back the ball with Laughlin serving, but Taylor stepped up and got her last kill to put the momentum back on Georgia’s side. Another block by Clark and Gonzalez set the stage for the Bulldog win, which came on the 26th attack error by the Gamecocks.
“We didn’t come ready to compete today, and I’m very disappointed about that,” said South Carolina head coach Ben Somera. “We train distracted and unfocused, and that’s my fault as well as this team’s. We will definitely give a better effort in our future matches.”
Georgia took its first win in the series since 2005, after South Carolina swept the series last year. USC lost its third match this season when hitting under .200 for the match.
The Gamecocks return to action on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they host Georgia at the Volleyball Competition Facility in Columbia.
