Sept. 11, 2010
by Koby Padgett
Assistant Media Relations Director
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (2-7) battled against a tough Lipscomb team, but the Lady Bisons (7-2) came out the winner in three sets, 25-18, 25-21, 25-21, in the championship match of the 2010 Gamecock Invitational at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
Outside hitters Megan Laughlin and Juliette Thévenin both had double-digit kills, with Laughlin leading the Gamecocks with 12 while hitting .323. Thévenin had 11 kills and nine digs. Senior libero Hannah Lawing posted 10 digs, while sophomore setter Taylor Bruns had 28 assists, seven digs and a pair of kills. Junior middle blocker Teresa Stenlund had seven blocks, five of those solo. Kaycee Green and Alex Riley both had 13 kills, while Katie Rose added 10. Meghan Hinemeyer led the Lady Bison with 17 digs. Setter Jake Pease had 35 assists, eight kills and eight digs.
Lipscomb ran out to a 6-1 lead early in the first behind three Green kills. The Gamecocks would never get closer than three from there, that coming after a block by freshmen Frankie Vain and Cara Howley and a Thévenin smash at 9-6. Pease landed a dump to end the first at 25-18. Kelly had five kills in the set, while Hinemeyer put up eight digs.
South Carolina got out to a 4-0 lead thanks in part to a pair of solo blocks by Stenlund. The Lady Bison quickly came back to tie it at 7-7, actually taking a brief lead after a kill by Charlyn Ursell that capped a three-point swing. The Gamecocks held leads at 13-10, 16-14 and finally at 19-18 before Lipscomb took control. A three-point string concluded with a block by Kelly and Ursell to hand the Lady Bison a 21-19 lead. Green made it 23-21 with her fourth kill of the set before Stephanie Rex had a service ace to put Lipscomb to set point. Pease again made a successful dump to finish the set, this time at 25-21. Pease had three kills, a team-best five digs and a solo block in the second.
The Lady Bisons again took an early lead in the third, getting two aces from Ursell to make it 4-0. The Gamecocks fought back, tying it at 9-9 after a Bruns dump and an ace from Stenlund. However, that would not last, as Lipscomb put down the next four points, including the final on an ace by Rose, to recapture the momentum. But the Gamecocks fought back again, tying it at 18-18 after a five-point stand that had two kills and a solo block by Stenlund. Lipscomb would come back again, as a three-point run put them up 23-20. Rose had an ace and a kill in the stand that almost finished off the Gamecocks. Green put away the final two points of the match, handing the 25-21 set-three win to the Lady Bisons. Kelly had five kills without an error in the final set.
South Carolina won the block battle, 11 to 7, but Lipscomb took the rest, including a 10-kill advantage and a 6-2 difference in aces.
Furman defeated South Carolina State in four sets in the final match of the tournament. Lipscomb’s Kelly took home the MVP award, while Pease and Green joined her. The Most Outstanding Libero award went to South Carolina’s Lawing. Laughlin and Thévenin also garnered all-tournament honors. Furman’s Chandler Ambrester and South Carolina State’s Bria Brimmer also claimed a spot on the all-tournament team.
The Gamecocks open Southeastern Conference play on the road next weekend, playing nationally ranked foes in Tennessee and Kentucky on Fri., Sept. 17 and Sun., Sept. 19, respectively.
