Sep 7, 2013
CLEMSON, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team fell in four sets to Furman on Saturday in the Big Orange Bash at Jervey Gymnasium by the scores of 27-29, 21-25, 26-24 and 20-25.
With the loss, the Gamecocks fall to 3-2 on the season. The Paladins improve to 1-5 overall.
South Carolina hit .294 as a team, its third best percentage this season, but Furman produced 74 kills on .392 hitting, including a percentage of .400 or higher in the first two sets.
Senior outside hitter Juliette Thévenin led the Gamecocks in the loss with 25 kills (.377), while sophomores Sarah Blomgren (.321) and Elizabeth Johnbull (.500) added 13 kills apiece. Sophomore setter Kellie McNeil tallied 56 assists, nine digs and two block solos, while junior libero Michaela Christiaansen added a team-high 16 digs.
Senior middle blocker Christian Dorismond recorded 23 kills to lead three Furman players in double figure kills. Freshman Ashton Gregory pitched in 21 kills, and junior Andrew Fisher finished with 13. Sophomore setter Jo Wilks dished out 65 assists for the Paladins, while Annie Bierman and Elle Ross had 18 digs apiece.
The Gamecocks built an early 3-0 lead in the first set behind a kill apiece by Johnbull and Blomgren and an ace by Christiaansen. Furman fought back to take a 14-12 lead midway through the match on a South Carolina attack error. The Paladins later had set point at 24-22, but freshman Dessaa Legros delivered a kill and McNeil served another ace to tie the match. Johnbull then slammed the ball for a kill to give South Carolina set point. However, Furman outscored South Carolina 5-2 the rest of the way to win the set.
South Carolina built a 17-13 lead in the second set but it couldn’t pull away from the Paladins. Furman closed out the frame on a 12-4 run to go ahead 2-0 for the match.
Furman jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, but the Gamecocks rallied to later tie the match a 9-9 on a kill by sophomore Darian Dozier. South Carolina took its first lead of the set at 15-14 after back-to-back kills by Dozier. The Paladins regained the lead 24-22 down the stretch. However, the Gamecocks refused to go away as they scored four straight points, including kills by Thévenin and Blomgren, to win the set 26-24.
The Paladins seemed to take control of the fourth set as they led 15-9 early, but once again South Carolina made a run, pulling to within 17-16 on a kill by Thévenin. But Furman outscored the Gamecocks 8-4 down the stretch to win the set and the match.
South Carolina returns to action today at 4 p.m. against Winthrop to conclude its weekend.
