Oct. 23, 2009
| Coach Somera |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Senior Ivana Kujundzic posted 14 kills and 13 digs to lead the Gamecocks (12-8, 4-7 SEC) to a sweep of Mississippi, 25-17, 25-19, 26-24, on Friday evening in the Volleyball Competition Facility.
Kujundzic put together her eighth double-double of the year, moving into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time listing. She topped the squad with a .387 hitting percentage while also moving into seventh place in career attacks with a total of 2,851. Junior Megan Laughlin added 11 kills at a .333 clip, while senior Sarah Cline made a match-best 19 digs in the outing. Freshman Brandi Byers, making her first career start, posted a match-high four blocks. The Rebels (8-13, 2-9 SEC) had Caitlin Weiss lead them in both kills and digs with 14 of each.
The Gamecocks got a six-point run in the first on Cline’s serving to take a 12-6 advantage. The Rebels would get no closer than five the rest of the way, as South Carolina stretched the lead to 22-13 later while Cline served. Laughin ended it at 25-17 with her fifth kill of the set. The Gamecocks held Ole Miss to a -.025 hitting percentage in the frame, helped partly by 20 Gamecock digs, six from Cline and five from Kujundzic.
Mississippi took the 11-9 advantage in the second thanks to a four-point run that was helped by an Ashley Veach ace and a Regina Thomas block. South Carolina made a stand later, getting a seven-point run on senior Bridget Denson-Dorman’s serve to grab the 21-17 lead. A three-point string put the Gamecocks to set point, with Kujundzic answering a Weiss kill to close the frame at 25-19. The senior had six kills in the set, while Cline made 10 digs.
The Rebels quickly got a 5-0 lead in the third behind two Weiss kills. The Gamecocks slowly crept back, getting to within one at 8-7 thanks to a pair of Ole Miss errors. South Carolina finally tied it at 13-13 on a Laughlin ace before taking the 17-14 advantage on a four-point skein keyed by kills from Kujundzic and sophomore Teresa Stenlund. Mississippi would not go away, later getting six out of seven points in one stretch to retake the lead at 22-21. The Rebels got one chance at set point, but a service error gave South Carolina back the advantage. Kujundzic’s kill gave the Gamecocks a chance to end the match, and Stenlund did just that at 26-24 with her kill on the overpass. The Garnet and Black hit .306 in the third while making three blocks.
The Gamecocks had more kills, assists, digs and blocks than the Rebels, running their record to 5-0 when taking the blocking category. South Carolina sweeps the season series from Missisippi for the first time since 2004 and the first time since the league moved to the double round-robin format.
South Carolina hosts Arkansas on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Volleyball Competition Facility on the corner of Blossom and Assembly Streets. It’s Team Photo Day, as the first 100 fans will have the opportunity to take a picture with the Gamecocks after the match.
