Oct. 6, 2005
Athens, Ga. – South Carolina volleyball returns to the road this weekend to take on eastern division conference foes, the Georgia Bulldogs (6-7, 1-2 SEC) in Athens and then down to Gainesville for the SEC East-leading and fifth-ranked Florida Gators (14-1, 4-0). Friday’s match is slated to start at 7 p.m., while Sunday’s contest is set to begin at 1 p.m.
The Gamecocks (9-5, 2-2), who are 2-4 on the road so far this season and 0-2 on the road in the SEC, will be looking to snap a four match losing streak against the Bulldogs which dates back to Nov. 17, 2002. The match in Athens will mark the 50th time the two programs have meet, with Georgia currently holding a 37-12 advantage.
Georgia, who has lost six of their last eight matches, will be led by three players averaging over three kills per game in seniors Julia Petruschke and Alexandra Oquendo, and freshman Maria Taylor.
Sunday’s opponent, no. 5 Florida, has taken their familiar place atop the SEC East, where they have finished after each season since the conference began division play in 1994. The Gators have reeled off seven consecutive victories since losing to then-No. 19 Notre Dame back on Sep. 11, dropping just one game out of 22 during that stretch.
Head Coach Mary Wise, who came into the year having won better than 90% of her games in 15 years at Florida, has a deep and talented team once again this season. The Gators are led by senior outside hitter Jane Collymore, who was a teammate of South Carolina junior outside hitter Shonda Cole on the U.S. women’s national team this past summer. Both players lead their respective teams in kills this season, Collymore with 207 in 49 matches, Cole with 237 in 51 matches.
Both matches can be followed live via the internet on Gametracker and live audio will be available at uscsports.com.
Gamecock fans will get a chance to see both teams up close and personal, on Oct. 28 against Florida and Oct. 30 against Georgia, when they come to town later on this month for matches at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
