Scott Swanson era begins with three wins
The USC volleyball team kicked off the 2011 season with three consecutive wins to capture the Temple Invitational championship in Philadelphia.
Friday's match against Montana got off to an exciting start as the Gamecocks won a marathon first set 34-32 before taking the final two sets both by a 25-15 score to win the match.
"Being the first match of the season, I thought we were a little tentative," said coach Scott Swanson to GamecocksOnline.com. "We made some adjustments ... and it made a difference for us defensively at the net."
Sophomore hitter Juliette Thévenin shined in Friday's match against the Grizzlies, posting an impressive 21 kills and 18 digs. Also, junior setter Taylor Bruns played well with a match-high 20 digs and 36 assists.
"We've been working so hard this summer and this preseason," Thévenin told Gamecocks Online. "I think that's a good reward for the work we've put in."
South Carolina's second match of the tournament on Saturday afternoon was against Stony Brook, which lost its first two matches against Temple and Montana. The match surprisingly proved to be the toughest test USC would face on the weekend.
The Gamecocks took the first set 25-15, but the Seawolves responded well by taking the second set 25-19. With the match even after two sets, the Gamecocks finished strongly by taking by third and fourth sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-10, putting themselves in position to take the tournament title against the hosting Temple Owls later that night.
While Temple had looked strong in their first two matches, they were no match for South Carolina, which swept the Owls with a final score of 25-15, 25-22, 25-18.
Thévenin posted her third consecutive double-double with 10 kills and 19 digs, earning Tournament MVP and most valuable attacker in the process.
"She's dominant, and she's just going to keep on getting better," Swanson said.
Strong performances also came from freshman outside hitter Hanna Forst, who led the team with 12 kills, and Bruns, who provided 35 assists.
Swanson, in his first year as head coach, was encouraged by his team's performance.
"We're going to be a pretty good team," he said. "We're going to be competitive."