Sept. 5, 2015
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision at Furman on Saturday at Alley Gym, as the Paladins won by the scores of 25-14, 28-30, 25-17 and 25-22.
With the loss, the Gamecocks are now 4-2 on the season. Furman improves to 4-2 win the victory.
The Paladins finished the night with the edge in kills (62-58), hitting percentage (.270-.195) and digs (62-61), while the Gamecocks out-blocked their opponent for the sixth straight match with a 9-7 advantage.
Junior outside hitter Dessaa Legros had another strong effort for the Gamecocks as she led the way with 20 kills while hitting .318 and six digs. Senior Sarah Blomgren finished with 14 kills and five blocks, while junior outside hitter Koko Atoa-Williams recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Senior middle blocker Darian Dozier finished with six kills and four blocks. Freshman setter Aubrey Ezell dished out 45 assists and had 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, and junior libero Megan Kirkland tallied 16 digs.
Carris Campbell paced Furman with 14 kills, while Christen Sikora and Annie Bierman contributed 12 kills apiece and 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Amelia Bohlander and Taina Joseph pitched in 11 kills each. Setter Jo Wills finished with 55 assists and nine digs, while Meg DeMaar collected a team-high 15 digs.
After Furman took the first set 25-14, the teams battled back and forth in a second set that saw 19 ties and seven lead changes. With the set tied at 27-27, Legros delivered a pair of kills, and Kirkland served an ace to finish off a 30-28 win for the Gamecocks. The Paladins hit .424 as a team on their way to a 25-17 win in the third set to take a 2-1 lead. Carolina wouldn’t go down without a fight late in the fourth set, as a kill by Blomgren gave the Gamecocks a 22-21 lead. However, Furman answered with three straight points to clinch the match.
Match Changer
The Paladins hit.389 as a team in the third and fourth sets combined on their way to winning both sets to clinch the match.
Notable
– Ezell recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 16 blocks.
– Legros and Kirkland were named to the All-Tournament Team. Legros averaged 4.23 kills and 2.62 digs per set in three matches, while Kirkland averaged 3.92 digs per set and had five service aces on the weekend.
– With four block assists on Saturday, Dozier moved to sixth on Carolina’s career block assists list with 308, passing Lori Drost (1994-97).
Tweet of the Match
Got both @gamecockvolley battling and the AVP!!! Busy night… https://t.co/8LRPNBQzhi
– Coach Moritz (@GamecockBeach) September 6, 2015
Up Next
The Gamecocks will be back in action next weekend at the Michigan Challenge. Carolina will face Pittsburgh (1 p.m. ET) and Michigan (7:30) on Friday and Western Michigan on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in Ann Arbor, Mich.
