 "Photo: Sarah Zilinsky/The Gamecock")
The USC volleyball team was 2-0 this weekend, winning the Gamecock Invitational Tournament in Columbia.
The Gamecocks defeated Michigan State on Saturday in five games (30-22, 30-21, 21-30, 25-30, 15-6) and Notre Dame on Sunday in four (30-28, 25-30, 30-22, 30-23).
In their first win ever against the Spartans, Carolina took a 2-0 game lead in the match. In game one, the Gamecocks held Michigan State to a .000 kill percentage with eight attempts and eight errors, while the Gamecocks had 19 kills. USC controlled the second game as well, hitting a .529 with 20 kills and only two errors. However Michigan State came out strong in game three and took an early lead. The Gamecocks trailed by as many as nine at one time and never made up the deficit to lose game three 21-30.
Game four was a tight matchup with nine ties. Carolina stayed in the game, never trailing by more than four points until the final point gave Michigan State the game 30-25. The Spartans tied up the match at two games each, forcing the Gamecocks into a fifth and final game.
USC was down early in the fifth game 3-1. Shonda Cole gave the Gamecocks the momentum on a big kill that led to a 6-0 run. The Spartans never regained their composure and allowed Carolina to go on consecutive 4-0 and 3-0 runs while they totaled only six points, winning the fifth game 15-6.
The Gamecocks then faced Notre Dame in the tournament championship game Sunday. In game one the Irish came out strong, leading USC by as many as eight on a 6-0 run to make the score 5-13. Sarah Morgan kept the Gamecocks alive with an impressive game-high six digs. She was also a powerful force at the net with a .400 kill percentage.
The turn-around came when Lynae Vanden Hull went on a 7-0 serving streak, including one ace, to put USC up 19-16. During this run Morgan had two kills to keep the momentum with the Gamecocks. Due to a streak of unforced errors on serve-receive for the Gamecocks, Meg Henican of Notre Dame went on a serving run of her own to give the Irish back their lead 23-22. The game then tied at 25, 26 and 27 before Carolina finished it off 30-28.
Game two looked much like game one, with Notre Dame taking the early lead. Cole led the way for the Gamecocks with a team-high six kills and a .417 kill percentage. The Irish were up 10-18 at one point, finding a hole behind USC's block. However, impressive net play by Katelyn Panzau with four kills and Vanden Hull with three brought the Gamecocks back to within five. Unfortunately that five point deficit was never made up and the Irish won the second game 25-30.
The Gamecocks came out strong in game three and took an early 6-2 lead through a serving streak by Nicole Miller including two aces in a row. However, Notre Dame's Lauren Brewster retaliated a serving streak of her own with four aces to give the Irish the lead 7-9. It was then a close battle until the Gamecocks went on a 6-0 run to widen the lead to 25-18 and eventually win the game 30-22. Morgan led the game in kills with five while Lauren Ford guided the defense with an impressive three blocks.
Notre Dame went on a five point run at the end of the fourth game to make the score 22-18. From there USC regained the momentum and only allowed the Irish five more points. Morgan again led the team with five kills, while Cole kept the Gamecocks defensively in the game with five digs. USC finished off the game with an ace and an Irish error to win the match three games to one.
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