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Monday, October 28,1996 Gamecoi ACHIM HUNT Sports Editor One of Brad Scott's trick plays won a game two years ago against Clemson as it preserved a bowl bid and a winning season. On Saturday, a trick play could have cost the Gamecocks the game, and movKa caoann muj wv tiiv uvuouui On the third play from scrimmage, redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Wright handed the ball off the right side to senior tailback Duce Staley, who stopped and attempted to throw the ball back to Wright. Head coach Brad Scott Is now IS now has a 3-0 record against Vand Volleyball BRYAN JOHNSTON Asst. Sports Editor If s not how you start, it's how you finish. That must be what the USC women's volleyball team was thinking as they dropped the first game against LSU before taking the next three, 11-15,1513,15-12,15-9. The Lady Gamecocks traveled to Baton Rouge, La. to take on the LSU Tigers Friday and came out of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with their 11th win in 12 tries since Sept. 14. It wasn't veiy pretty, but youH take a win on the road," head coach Kim Hudson said. "It seemed like we were a little flat. We weren't in tempo at all." Carolina was led by juniors Lori Drost, Shani Abshier and Heather Larkin. Drost had 22 kills, Abshier had 15 kills and 20 digs while Larkin had 20 kills for the Lady Gamecocks. USC started off slow in the first game ns tlipv fpll VieViinrt fi-1 Carolina had two players come off the bench to serve them back into the match. Sophomore Stacey Donham served up two consecutive points, and senior Kelly Morrow served up three in a row to tie the game at six. USC pulled to within one point at 10-9 on a kill by freshman Fernanda Laires and tied it at 10 on a rally highlighted by two blocks by Drost. LSU scored four points in a row to push the lead to 14-10. USC held off four game points before the Tigers closed out the first game, 15-11. The Lady'Gamecocks had a hitting percentage of only. 143 in the first game while LSU hit .279. USC jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second game behind two service points from sophomore Cindy Robarge. LSU battled back to take the lead 4-3 after three Carolina violations in a row. Morrow came off the bench and, once again, served up three points as USC tonic a fi-4 load. Carolina nncViod tVio lead to 9-4 when LSU was called for a net violation. LSU battled back again as Roxanne Henry came off the bench for the Tigers and served up four consecutive points. Morrow served up two more points to give Carolina a 11-8 lead. Louisiana State came roaring back to take a 1311 lead before Carolina fought back and finished off game two, 15-13, on an ace by Abshier. cks lay a The throw never got off as Duce was hit by Vanderbilt senior defensive end Matt Shuckman and, on the play, twisted his knee. The hit knocked Staley out of the game and very well could have ended his college career right there. Ci.i j; J i. i. ii 1 i. oictiey uiu nut i^niw uie game, uul Carolina fans got to see a glimpse of the future in the 27-0 shutout over Vanderbilt True freshman running back Boo Williams, the heir apparent to Staley, finished the game with 110 yards on 19 carries. On defense, last week's SEC Player # Xa w FILE PHOTO The Gamecock -14-1 In his threo years at USC. He lerbilt as head coach. team splits USC fell behind 2-0 before Drost served up three points for the Lady Gamecocks, two of which were aces, as they took a 3-2 lead. Robarge served up four consecutive points as Carolina pushed the lead to 8-2. LSU came back to within one point at 11-10 before senior Lyndy Stevens came off the bench for a block that put Carolina up 12-10. Larkin put USC up 14-11 when she blocked an LSU kill attempt. Morrow served up the final point in game three and Abshier ended the point on a kill as USC took game three, 15-12. T? ? n?U?l,4 T CTT in gome tin cc, v_> ai uiina iiciu uuu to a lowly .098 hitting percentage. Carolina came out in the fourth game ready to end the match. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead, highlighted by Laires serving up four points. In that span, USC hit a sparkling .556. South Carolina went on another run and pushed the lead to 10-3 on one of Robarge's 10 kills. Laires served up a point to make it 12-4 before LSU tried to make it interesting. They cut the lead to 12-6 and then to 13-8 before sophomore Ashley Edlund served up the final two points to finish game four, 15-9 and close out the match. "In the first game, we got off to a slow start, but towards the end of the second game, things started to fall into place," Robarge said. "We started to gel and everyone stepped up and played their part. The whole team played very well." "We pulled together and fought really hard," Abshier said. "It was important to prove that we could play well even if we started off slow." On Sunday, the Lady Gamecocks travelled to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks and were swept 15-12,15-8,16-14. The Gamecocks were led by Laires, who had 17 kills and 13 digs. Edlund had 36 assists, six kills and hit .357. Larkin had 10 kills for USC. As a team, Carolina hit only .138 while the Razorbacks hit .281. In game one, Arkansas jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but USC came right back to tie it up at seven and then took a 9-8 lead. Unable to capitalize on its serve, Arkansas tied it at nine and then took a 12-10 lead. Carolina cut the lead to one at 13-12, but the Razorbacks got the best of the Gamecocks and won game SPO goose e of the Week senior Benji Young had another brilliant week as he had one interception that gave Carolina the ball at the Vanderbilt two-yard line late in the first half. Carolina was able to take total control .riL _ ! ./? . ii. i l ir oi me line 01 scrimmage in me nrsi nan, and then they took advantage of Vanderbilfs seven turnovers to score 27 first half points. "[The game] was a full team effort," head coach Brad Scott said. "It was the best we've played when you put it all together, as far as our special teams stepping up, our defense dominating, and offense going and doing what they're supposed to do when you get turnovers on that end of the field." Early in the first quarter, Vanderbilt fumbled the ball at their own 37-yard line. On the next play, Staley ran the ball for 18 yards. Then, the drive stalled when Staley was dropped for a 12-yard loss on the play that knocked him out of the game. Freshman placekicker Courtney Leavitt kicked a 47-yard field goal with 10:34 left in the first quarter that gave the Gamecocks the early 3-0 lead. Brad Scott was not really happy when Staley went out of the game after that play. "I was really thinking this was going to be a long dav for us," Scott said. On Carolina's next drive, freshman Jacob Bush ran for 27 yards on first down, but he tore his groin on the play and did not return to the game. Senior Reed Morton nailed a 40-yard field goal to cap off that drive and give Carolina the 6-0 lead. Then, the flood gates opened up for Carolina. On Vanderbilt's next possession,. Benji Young got the interception that gave Carolina the ball at the two-yard line. Two plays later, junior tailback Scott Moritz gave the Gamecocks a 13-0 lead with a pitch to left that he took into the end zone. pair of ro one, 15-12. Laires had eight kills in the game. In game two, Carolina took a 5-3 lead, but Arkansas hit an ace to tie it at five and then went on a roll. The 'Backs scored six straight before Carolina scored a point to make it 12-7. Arkansas scored three straight to take game two, 15-8. In game three, Arkansas ran its lead to 6-3 and 8-4 before the Lady Gamecocks pulled back into the match at 9-9. Drost hit an ace to tie it at 11. It looked like USC had game three wrapped up when they went up 14-11, but Arkansas came m Sophomore Ashley Edlund kills th< Lady Gamecocks won their match but were swept by Arkansas Sund iRTS gg, 27-0 Later in the second quarter, Vanderbilfs Alvin Duke muffed a Leavitt punt that Corey Atkins recovered at the Vanderbilt seven-yard line. On the veiy next, nlav Mnritz went over left tarVle for the score and a 20-0 lead. On Vand/s next drive, they attempted a fake punt, but the punter Bill Marinangel was tackled on fourth and 21. True freshman Troy Hambrick capped off the drive with a two-yard run that gave the Gamecocks their last points of the game to make the score 27-0. "That's what this team is about," Wright said. "We've learned how to win, no matter if if s pretty or if s ugly." The game is pretty costly for the The Gamecock football team cole fans made the trip to Nashville, ai ad games back with two key kills and an ace to tie it up at 14. Again, Arkansas was too strong at the net and won game three and the match, 16-14. After this past weekend's road trip, Carolina's record stands at 17-5 overall and 7-2 in the SEC. Friday, Nov. 1, the team travels to Gainesville, Fla. to take on the secondranked Florida Gators in a 7 p.m. match. Florida will then come to Columbia for a 2 p.m. match with the Lady Gamecocks on Sunday, Nov. 3 in the New Facility. r*-t FILE PHOTO The Gamecock e ball In a match against LSU. The against the Tigers on Friday night, ay afternoon In Fayettevllle. i over Vai Gamecocks because of all of the injuries i that occurred during the ball game. One possible explanation is the fact Vanderibilt i has an astroturf field. i "We had Duce. We had Marcus with i a tender ankle. We lost Jason Lawson, 1 so it created a problem for us because < we only have two tight ends now, and he was out most of the game," head coach i Brad Scott said. ' Now the focus has changed for the i Gamecocks. They have to look toward i what will be the toughest challenge of the year in the No. 6 ranked Tennessee ' Volunteers. i The Gamecocks have showed they 1 can play with anybody this year by hanging in tough with all of their < ibrates with their fans after the shutn nd hundreds of others watched the gai Tigers too; men's soco JEFF BLOPCETT Staff Writer Coming into the game with a fivegame winning streak everything looked bright and sunny for the 19th ranked Gamecocks. But the dark and cloudy skies Sunday would be very symbolic for the Gamecocks and their fans as they lost to in-state rival Clemson 3- They gave it all tl i when they were di TT,e loss drops iate jn the game, I the Gamecocks to .. .... .. 7-6-1 on the of team this IS." season. Mark Berson The first half was a defensive struggle ,with each team giving all they had to get that first goal of the game. Clemson won that honor 36:05 into the match when South Carolina goalkeeper John Mills couldn't come up with the ball and Uemson lorward Chad James took advantage and put the ball into the empty net. "Clemson was an opportunistic team", stressed Coach Berson. At the half it showed, Clemson had a 1-0 lead even though they were outshot seven to three. As the second half started both teams seemed to pick up the pace a little and things were still not going Carolina's way. And at 55:30 into the game Clemson's forward John Wilson broke in on Mills just lifting one over Mills into the net to Swimming and Diving The USC Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving teams defeated ViiTginia Tech in non-conference action at Blacksburg, Va. Friday. The men blitzed the Hokies, 170.564.5 while the women cruised to a 151-89 victory. Leading women's coach Beth Harrell's team was senior Charlene Miller who won the 100 butterfly in a time of 58.26. USC finished 1-2 in eight of 13 events. Senior All-Amencan day Telford won both the 200 and 500 freestyle as the Gamecocks won 11 of 13 events for head coach Keith Switzer. Saturday, both teams fell to the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Va. The men lost to the Cavaliers 142-93, while the women were defeated 148-91. The men were led by diver Chad Seldon. The Moultrie, Ga. native won both the one-meter and three 11 7 iderbilt opponents. The game is huge as they need one more victory to qualify for a bowl, and it would benefit this team greatly to win it at home before they go on the road to finish the year against Florida and Clemson. "Ibis was a good win for us, especially at this point in the season," Scott said. 'Our defense has continued to improve all year, and that was as solid an effort as we've had." The Gamecocks' game against rennessee is set for a 12:37 p.m. kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium. This will be the last home game of the season. The game will be televised by the Jefferson PilotTV Network. - ? ! ifii^JSSKjES IS^kSl^m rwW^SBHlE IHfc l\A u ATI^ JmSffSt r^ r .k^f^.Tii Kfe^ ^Bi^PH|M li *\ "**" **"^35^ **#' it <***** ^g* mt AC HIM HUNT The Gamecock >ut of Vanderbllt. Four thousand no on pay-per-view. much for er team give Clemson a 2-0 lead. Carolina kept the pressure on but still couldn't come up with anything, as their shots would either miss the net by inches or Clemson's Goalkepper Matt Jordan would be there to stop them. Then at 83:56 into the game Clemson finally put the icing on the cake hey had, even own by three Yenzer put one that's the type Past Mils for ws 16th goal of the season. , soccer head coach More importantly it gave Clemson a three goal cushion. But the Gamecocks still would not give up and stepped it up a notch. And at 85:35 into the game they finallv crnt nn thp KnarH whpn Rnhhip Pait lifted one over Jordan for his 6th goal of the season. But it was a little too late as the Gamecocks fell to the Tigers. After the game Coach Berson was proud of his team's effort. "They gave it all they had, even when they were down by three late in the game, thaf s the type of team this is." The loss will probably drop the Gamecocks out of Soccer America's Top 20. Next up for the Gamecocks is an away game against Wake Forest Wednesday, Oct. 30. meter diving events for Carolina. Junior Susie Stark led the women wun a pooi-recora time or z.VdAZ in capturing the 200-yard breaststroke. With the loss, both teams fall to 3-1 on the season. The Gamecocks return to action on Nov. 1 when the women play host to SEC foe Tennessee, and the men travel to Knoxville, Tenn. to face the Volunteers. Men's Tennis Columbia native Keith Brill won twn mutfVioc fn tVio v" v muvviivw muiiuuj ww vu^/iuiw viiv Gamecock Fall Invitational. Brill defeated number one seed Jon Pastel of Davidson University 6-1,6-4 in the semifinals. Brill dropped the first set in the final, the only set he lost all tournament, but he responded to the challenge by captm mg the next two sets to defeat Porter Jones from Duke University 2-6,7-5,6-3.