Aug. 28, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team turned in a stellar performance to open its 2015 season on Friday as it swept Southeastern Louisiana by the scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-12 in the Gamecock Invitational at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
The Gamecocks won their fifth-straight season opener under head coach Scott Swanson in front of a capacity crowd of 1,363.
Carolina jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first set before the Lady Lions (0-1) scrapped back to pull to within 12-10. The Gamecocks answered with a 7-3 run to build a 19-13 advantage, and Southeastern Louisiana was unable to pull closer than five the rest of the way. The Lady Lions built a 7-1 advantage in the second set, but Carolina fought back to tie the match at 11-11 and closed in strong fashion, outscoring Southeastern Louisiana 14-7 to win the set. With a 2-0 lead, the Gamecocks put the Lady Lions away quickly in the third set, building a 10-3 lead on their way to a 25-12 win.
The Gamecocks finished the night with the edge in kills (38-30), hitting percentage (.326-.107), assists (35-27), services aces (8-4), digs (46-42) and blocks (4-3).
Junior outside hitter Dessaa Legros led the way for the Gamecocks as she matched her career high in kills with 12 while hitting .357 with just two attack errors. She also recorded a career-high seven digs. Senior middle blocker Darian Dozier contributed nine kills while hitting .533 and two blocks. Junior outside hitter Koko Atoa-Williams and senior Sarah Blomgren added seven and six kills, respectively.
In her Gamecock debut, freshman setter Aubrey Ezell had a solid night as she produced a double-double with 30 assists, 13 digs and a match-high three service aces. Junior libero Joely Cabrera tallied 12 digs.
Junior Landry Bullock paced the Lady Lions with 10 kills, while junior Parrie Hartley chipped in five kills. Senior setter Mikayla Shippy dished out 17 assists, and libero Monica Ramon collected 10 digs in the loss.
Match Changer
Legros matched her career high with 12 kills while hitting .357 with just a pair of attack errors on 28 attempts.
Key Stat
The Gamecocks served tough the entire match and finished the night with eight services aces, which is their most in a match since recording nine at home against Arkansas on Nov. 23, 2012.
Notable
– Carolina has now won five-straight season openers.
– The Gamecocks improved to 24-0 in home tournament play during the Swanson era.
– Legros matched her career high with 12 kills and finished with a career-high seven digs.
– With two block assists on Friday, Dozier moved to 10th on Carolina’s career total blocks list with 325.
Quotable
South Carolina head coach Scott Swanson
“I thought we had a really good first set. It was neck-and-neck for a while. We ended up finishing pretty strong. I thought our ball control was better and made less hitting errors. We served really tough and kept them out of system, which allowed us to play pretty good defense. In game two, we went out there and weren’t very disciplined for a while, but I told the kids I was proud of how they came back. They responded really well. It was a good test for us. They are a pretty good team.”
Tweet of the Match
Great win by @GamecockVolley tonight! Looking forward to more wins this season! #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/qfzCxOPa9k
– Lee Goble (@LeeGoble) August 29, 2015
Up Next
The Gamecocks return to action on Saturday with two matches. Carolina is slated to face North Carolina Central at 1 p.m. and will wrap up the day against North Carolina State at 7 p.m. at the CVC. Both matches will be available on SEC Network+.
