Oct. 14, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Gamecocks finish up a tough stretch of the schedule this week when they play No. 8 Florida on Wednesday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. Match time is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be shown live in Florida on Sun Sports. Then South Carolina wraps up the first half of Southeastern Conference play on Sunday at Auburn, with first serve set for 1:30 p.m. CDT on the Plains.
The Gators have lost just once this season and hold a perfect 8-0 mark in SEC play entering the week. Florida has won at least a share of the league crown every year since the league’s expansion in 1991. Auburn holds a 5-14 overall record and enters the the week looking for its first SEC win of 2008.
Belita Salters Continues Record Book Assault
Redshirt senior Belita Salters has done a lot during her time in Columbia, and the record books show that. She already stands in the top 10 all-time in hitting percentage, solo blocks, total blocks and blocks per set. The chart of all the career lists she could move up on this season, including the numbers of the people ahead of her, is included on the PDF version of the notes. Last season, Salters recorded 33 solo blocks and 128 total, averaging 1.21 blocks a game, which stood 10th in the Southeastern Conference in 2007.
Record-Type Performances
The middle blockers for South Carolina have turned in some stellar performances over the past two seasons, with redshirt senior Belita Salters writing her name in the single-match record books twice already in 2008. She hit a career-best .543 (21-2-35) in the five-set victory over UNLV, the third-highest average for a Gamecock in a five-set match. She followed that with a .536 (17-2-28) mark in the victory at Rhode Island in the Art Carmichael Classic, which stands fourth on the five-set match charts.
After watching Salters put her name in the record book twice, sophomore middle blocker Megan Laughlin decided to get in on the action. Her .652 (15-0-23) against the College of Charleston ranks as the fifth-best output in a three-set match in history, replacing Lori Rowe’s .636 versus Southern Miss on Oct. 15, 1983.
Is It That Simple?
The Gamecocks enter the weekend with an 14-3 record, and the match-by-match stats tell us one thing about the losses. If South Carolina out-hits its opponent, it wins. The Garnet and Black are 14-0 when it out-hits its opposition. In the team’s three losses, they were out-hit when they compiled percentages of .085 (Arizona State), .168 (Mississippi) and .200 (Kentucky). Their worst performance in a win was at Arkansas, when the squad hit .182. The Gamecocks are also 13-0 when it has less hitting errors than the other side.
Road Tougher in Southeastern Conference
While playing in other team’s gyms is tough, it gets even tougher in the Southeastern Conference. Last year, the home team won 64 percent of their matches in league play. Last season, the Gamecocks won just two matches on the road, and the program took just nine road matches out of 43 tries from 2003-07. The last winning road record in SEC play came in 2002, when the squad went 7-1. Thus far in 2008, the Gamecocks are 3-1 away from Columbia against its league foes.
Strong Schedule Brings Gamecocks Unique Recognition
The Carolina Gamecocks have put themselves in impressive company. The squad has defeated six teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and only one other team not currently ranked in the nation’s top 25 has matched that. Texas A&M has also defeated six teams, and the comparison to determine whose wins are better is close. The Gamecocks defeated three teams that won in the first round, (Dayton, Clemson and LSU), while the Aggies have victories over BYU, a 2007 regional finalist, and Oklahoma, who won its first-round contest but fell to Florida in the second. The rest of South Carolina’s wins (UNLV, College of Charleston and Alabama) could be seen as stronger than Texas A&M’s (American, Siena, Texas State and Missouri).
Among the Elite Early in 2008
South Carolina’s early-season record stands among the very best in the country. Entering the week, there were just three undefeated teams among the 315 full-fledged Division I teams in the country. The Gamecocks are three steps down, part of the 20 teams that have just three losses on the year. Florida and Kentucky both join the Gamecocks as SEC squads in that top 12 percent.
Digs and Serve Reception Key to Gamecocks’ Start
When South Carolina’s season ended last November, the coaching staff immediately made a goal to improve the team’s defense, particularly digs and serve receptions. It seems that hard work has paid off. The Gamecocks currently lead the SEC and stand 39th nationally with 15.80 digs per set. That’s just 1.4 digs off the squad’s pace from last season when each game contained five more points.
Something that might be missed, however, is the fact the team’s serve reception has also improved. Last year, South Carolina made 1.3 errors per set and successfully received a serve 94.5 percent of the time. The 2008 percentage stands just under that mark at 94.4 percent, as the squad now gives up 1.0 aces per set. In fact, the squad’s opponents have just 59 aces on the season while making 106 service errors in the process. The Gamecocks’ serving game has cut down on the errors, making just eight more errors than their 69 aces this season.
Blocking Is a Team Effort
With a lot of experience back, it makes working together easier. That has really come into play with the Gamecocks’ blocking efforts in 2008. The team still is led by Belita Salters and Megan Laughlin in the middle, but they have gotten a lot of help up front. Five of the six regular front-row players average around a block per match (0.3 blocks per set) in 2008, with the other checking in at 0.21 blocks per set, just below that threshold. Last season, five Gamecocks ended the year above that 0.3 mark.
Maybe Not a Team Effort, But Avoiding Blocks Are Good, Too
So far the Gamecocks have been adept at avoiding the opposition’s blocking schemes. South Carolina has been blocked an average of 1.55 times per set this season, which ranks third in the SEC. Alabama leads the way with a 1.27 mark, while Kentucky’s opponents have maintained a 1.36 blocks-per-set average this season.
A Pair of Streaks End, One Survives
Two Gamecocks saw their consecutive sets-played streak come to an end during the opening weekend of SEC play. Middle blockers Belita Salters and Megan Laughlin both missed the match against LSU due to different ailments. That ended streaks of 141 and 140 straight sets played, respectively, for the pair. The longest current streak is held by Ivana Kujundzic, who has played in 153 straight sets, dating back to the Boston College match in 2007.
Gamecock Version of Triplets
The Indianapolis Colts were the most recent version of “triplets” in the NFL, while it’s believed that the Dallas Cowboys originated the term talking about the team’s top three players. For the Gamecocks, the triplets are senior Belita Salters, junior Ivana Kujundzic and sophomore Megan Laughlin. As shown below, Kujundzic has led the Gamecocks 11 of the 17 matches this season in kills, while Salters has topped the squad four times and Laughlin on three occasions. What that chart doesn’t show you is the consistency of the top three. Kujundzic has ranked second in those six matches that she didn’t lead, while Laughlin has also stood second six times, one more than Salters. Others have stepped up when needed, as Meredith Moorhead and Annie Thomas have each ranked second in kills once. And freshman Teresa Stenlund did her best Laughlin or Salters impression during her one start, providing a great second option on offense against LSU.
Kujundzic Takes Home Weekly Awards
Junior outside hitter Ivana Kujundzic picked up the Gamecocks’ first SEC award of the season, claiming the Offensive Player of the Week certificate on Monday, Sept. 15. Kujundzic also earned the CVU.com National Player of the Week award, the first national award for a Gamecock volleyball player since Sept. 16, 2006. The Subotica, Serbia, native averaged 4.36 kills and 3.09 digs per set with a .355 hitting percentage during the Carolina Challenge. She nearly single-handedly won the fifth set against archrival Clemson, recording six kills, including four that staved off match point or set up Carolina for the win.
Gamecocks Show Skills in Non-Conference
Comparing the stats from each weekend is one bit of evidence about how much hard work during practice pays off for a team. The Gamecocks increased their offense in each weekend tournament, starting at 12.4 kills and 11.1 assists per set at Arizona State, moving to 13.5 kills and 11.4 assists in the Art Carmichael Classic before breaking out for 15.8 kills and 14.8 assists in the Carolina Challenge. The Garnet and Black’s hitting percentage also climbed each week, starting at .197 before shooting to .308 and .324. The defense has been steady, never dropping below 15.7 digs per frame.
Garnet Bring Back Majority of Production
South Carolina should be able to pick up where they left off in 2007. In most major statistical categories, the squad returns 85 percent of the production from last season. The highest percentage back comes in assists and digs, as 94 percent of last year’s totals are back. The squad also has 85 percent of its aces back, including nine of the 10 players that registered at least one. Eighty-six percent of the kills return, including the top four in kills last season. The only category that “suffered” a loss is blocks, as a mere 74 percent (and the squad’s top two blockers) are back for 2008.
Series History Against Florida
Few teams in the SEC have had even limited success against Florida, but South Carolina is one. The Gamecocks have taken seven contests in the 45 meetings, and just four other conference squads can match that number of wins over the league’s dominate program. However, Carolina is just 2-23 against the Gators since joining the SEC, picking up wins in 1994 and 2006, both at home. Just twice have the Gamecocks won in Gainesville, with those victories coming in their first two visits there on Sept. 5, 1984 and Oct. 18, 1986. South Carolina has lost 19 straight matches at the O’Connell Center.
Scouting the Gators
The undisputed leader in the SEC, Florida brings a 14-1 overall record and an 8-0 league mark into Wednesday’s match. The eighth-ranked team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, the Gators lead the SEC in hitting percentage and kills in league outings. SEC opponents hit just .158 against the Orange and Blue, second-lowest mark in the league. The Gators also stand second in assists per set, just .05 behind the Gamecocks. Kristy Jaeckel leads Florida with a 3.61 kills-per-set average, but the star has been freshman Kelly Murphy. She stands second on the team in kills (3.09 per set), digs (1.78 per set) and service aces (0.26 per set) while she leads the squad in assists per set (5.81) and hitting percentage (.348). Libero Elyse Cusack ranks third in the SEC with a 4.37 digs-per-set mark. Colleen Ward has also contributed 2.36 kills per set on a .254 hitting percentage. Kelsey Bowers leads the squad with a 0.91 blocks-per-set mark.
Series History Against Auburn
South Carolina has won 17 of the 24 meetings against the Tigers in history. Last season, the squad’s split, with each team winning its road match. All-time in Auburn, the Gamecocks are 9-2.
Scouting the Tigers
Auburn enters the week with a 5-14 overall mark and is looking for the team’s first SEC win of the season. The squad only has one advantage over its foes this season, out-digging the opposition by one dig per set (12.96-11.96). The Tigers’ offensive leader is Jessica Glover, who tops the team in hitting percentage (.250) and kills per set (3.27) while standing second in digs per set (2.42) and blocks per set (0.45). Setter Sara Shanks averages 8.16 assists per frame and adds 1.43 digs per set. Olympia Haney ranks second on the team with a 1.92 kills-per-game average. Alyssa Davis leads the squad with a 0.50 blocks per set, while libero Liz Crouch holds a 3.44 digs-per-frame average.
