Sept. 8, 2006
Game Book in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (22-30, 21-30, 23-30) decision to the 10th-ranked Southern California Women of Troy on Friday night in the Gamecock Invitational. The Gamecocks dropped to 7-3 with the loss, while Southern California moved to 8-0.
South Carolina trailed in the first game 12-11 after a kill by senior outside hitter Shonda Cole, but the Women of Troy responded with a 5-0 run. The Gamecocks were able to pull within three at 25-22 following a kill by junior middle blocker Crystal Johnson, but Southern California answered with another 5-0 spurt to secure the stanza.
The Gamecocks fell behind from the start in game two, trailing 7-0. Southern California held steady, eventually pushing the lead to 10 when Taylor Carico hit a kill to make the score 17-7. South Carolina was never able to close the gap to more than seven the remainder of the frame.
In game three, South Carolina was down 19-15 before winning seven of the next 10 rallies to deadlock the score at 22. Following a kill by Asia Kaczor from the Women of Troy, Southern California won six more points in a row to cap a 7-0 tear. Kaczor’s 15th kill of the match put South Carolina away for good.
Cole had a match-high 17 kills on 38 attacks. Sophomore outside hitter Marija Milosevic banged out nine kills, and senior setter Iris Santos had 28 assists and four blocks.
The Women of Troy hit .360 (51-15-100) for the match compared to a .173 (38-21-98) clip for South Carolina. Southern California out-dug South Carolina 45-34 as well.
Southern California and St. John’s will play for the tournament championship Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Volleyball Competition Facility. The Gamecocks take on Florida State in the third-place match at 1:30 p.m.
