Sept. 4, 2009
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Another strong outing from the Carolina Gamecocks pushed the squad to 5-0 with a 25-20, 25-11, 25-18 sweep over Coastal Carolina. The win is the fourth for the Gamecocks over an in-state rival in 2009 and puts the squad a win away from its fourth straight pre-conference schedule tournament title.
Senior outside hitter Ivana Kujundzic led all players with 18 points, posting a team-best 14 kills and three aces. Senior setter Bridget Denson-Dorman had her third double-double of the year, dishing out 26 assists while making 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Hannah Lawing had 10 kills, while senior libero Sarah Cline added a match-best 15 digs. Senior outside hitter Meredith Moorhead added eight kills and a career-high three aces. Chelsy Kimes led Coastal (1-4) with seven kills and nine kills.
The Gamecocks owned advantages in every statistical category except for blocks, which the Chanticleers captured, 9-5. The biggest leads came for South Carolina in kills (40-22), hitting percentage (.248-.000) and aces (9-4).
South Carolina first got a notable lead at 13-10 in the initial set after a five-point skein that included kills from freshman Teresa Stenlund, Denson-Dorman and Kujundzic and a block from Kujundzic and Stenlund. The Gamecocks stretched the advantage to 18-12 on a four-point run that was started by a Denson-Dorman dump and ended with an ace from the senior setter. The Chanticleers tried to mount a comeback, but Kujundzic ended the frame at 25-20 with her fourth kill in the period. South Carolina out-hit Coastal, .281-.029.
The second was all Gamecocks once the squad ran off seven points in a row, including three consecutive aces from Kujundzic, to make it 10-4. South Carolina had a five-point run minutes later, started by back-to-back kills from Lawing and followed by three aces from Moorhead, moving the score to 16-6. The Gamecocks ended it at 25-11 with another Kujundzic kill. The senior had five kills in the set, while the Gamecocks hit .375, compared to .000 for Coastal. South Carolina also landed seven aces in the set.
South Carolina got a 5-0 lead to start the third after three Chanticleer errors as well as a block by Stenlund and Denson-Dorman. Coastal got back into it with a four-point run to make it 13-12. But the Gamecocks answered with a three-point string, which started with kills by Lawing and Kujundzic. The Carolina Gamecocks pushed the lead back to five at 19-14 on a five-point run capped by a block from sophomore Tory Anderson and Denson-Dorman. The squads traded sideouts till the end; with a Coastal attack error wrapping up the third at 25-18. Lawing and Kujundzic had five kills each, while Denson-Dorman had nine assists and five digs in the final frame. The Gamecock defense held down Coastal again, as the Chanticleers hit -.026 in the third, the fourth straight match that the Garnet and Black have held a foe to a negative hitting percentage in one set.
UNC Greensboro pushed their season’s record to 4-2 in the third match of the tournament, taking a 3-1 win over Eastern Kentucky.
The 2009 Gamecock Invitational concludes on Saturday, with the Chanticleers and Colonels opening the day at 10 a.m. The Gamecocks and Spartans will clash at 12 noon with the tournament championship on the line. Admission is $5 for adults at the Volleyball Competition Facility, located on the corner of Assembly and Blossom Streets.
