Oct. 10, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The fifth-ranked Florida Gators downed South Carolina, 30-17, 30-18, 30-19, on Wednesday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators move to 16-0 on the season, 9-0 in Southeastern Conference action, while the Gamecocks fall to 9-9, 2-7 in league play.
Freshman Megan Laughlin had eight kills to lead the Gamecocks. Junior Belita Salters topped the squad with a .636 hitting percentage. Freshmen Jordan Bradosky and Hannah Lawing both had seven digs a piece to pace the squad.
Marcie Hampton led the Gators with 16 kills, while Elyse Cusack had 16 digs for Florida.
The Gators took the first game in resounding fashion behind seven kills from the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week Hampton. Setter Angie McGinnis set the tone early for the Gators, dumping two of UF’s first three points from the setter spot. Florida went on four-point run early to take a 9-3 lead before a three-point skein to stretch the lead to 20-10. The Gamecocks tried to fight back at 23-12 with a kill from Salters and a block from the junior and Dani Bedore. But the Blue and Orange would not let up, taking five of the final six points to end the game. The Gators compiled a .630 percentage in the game one win.
In game two, Florida took eight of the first nine points, getting three blocks in the streak. South Carolina got it back to 9-5 after kills from Ivana Kujundzic and Laughlin. However, the Gators would go on another run, stretching the lead to 21-9 with another eight points out of nine. The Gamecocks attempted to come back, getting three straight points from Laughlin from two kills and a block with Kujundzic. The Gators answered with three points of their own to get within two of ending the frame. The Garnet and Black went on another three-point skein, with Bedore getting a kill and a block assist with Salters to bring USC to 28-17. But the Gators ended the game after the teams traded side outs on a Kelsey Bowers kill. Carolina held Florida to a .227 hitting percentage in the game, while the Gamecocks were limited to .021 in the frame.
Carolina had an early 2-1 lead after a block from Salters and Lawing, but UF rolled off nine consecutive points, helped by two USC handling errors and a pair of Hampton kills. The Gamecocks closed the gap to 19-12 after two Gator hitting errors, a block by Meredith Moorhead and a Kujundzic kill. The Gators pushed the lead out to 26-14 thanks to kills from Hampton, Callie Rivers and Lauren Bledsoe. South Carolina tried again to get back in the match with five of seven points, including an ace from Bedore. But the Gators would close it out, as Rivers ended the match with her ninth kill.
The Gators hit .384 in the contest, compared to .115 for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina head to Fayetteville for a 1:30 p.m. Sunday match against Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena.
