Sept. 1, 2012
FAIRFAX, Va. – Outside hitters Juliette Thévenin and Bethanie Thomas posted a combined 27 kills and led South Carolina (6-0) to a sweep of tournament host George Mason (1-4) 25-18, 25-22, 25-18, on Saturday evening.
Thévenin led the Gamecocks in kills for the second-consecutive match, posting 15 on a .400 hitting percentage while adding six digs. Thomas tallied 12 kills on a .385 hitting percentage and had eight digs. Junior setter Taylor Bruns posted 32 assists and 13 digs while guiding the team to a .301 hitting percentage, adding six kills herself. Junior libero Paige Wheeler led all players with 15 digs.
Lana Zonjic had eight kills to top George Mason, with Bernetta Moore adding 14 digs.
The Gamecocks started strong in the first set, running out to a 7-0 lead behind three kills from freshman middle blocker Darian Dozier, who also had three block assists on the night. It got to 19-7 before Mason stormed back, drawing to within three before the Gamecocks regained control. Dozier combined with redshirt freshman Christina Vereb to block a Mason attack and end the set at 25-18.
South Carolina took the second set 25-22 behind a pair of three-point runs late. The first came on freshman Jenna Allen’s serve, as both Bruns and redshirt sophomore Cara Howley had kills in the stretch. The second came on Thomas’s serve, with Thévenin punctuating the run with a kill. Thomas wrapped the set with a kill.
George Mason held a 12-9 lead after a four-point run caused in part by Gamecock errors. Down 16-14, the Gamecocks turned it on, taking 11 of the final 13 points to finish off the set. Junior middle blocker Megan Kent joined Thévenin with two kills in the first part of the run, while Thévenin kicked off the final run and wrapped the set with kills. The Gamecocks hit .406 in that final stanza.
Mason won in aces, 5-2, and in blocks, 5-4, but South Carolina claimed all the other categories, including nearly doubling up the hosts in both kills, 53-27, and assists, 46-25.
South Carolina closes its stay at The Mason Inn Patriot Invitational with two matches on Sunday, the first at 11 a.m. against Navy.
