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Iht (Bamccodt Four All-SEC returnees could lead USC to the conference title by Rick Johnston , The Gamecock USC’s volleyball team enters this season with an optimistic outlook. The team returns four key players from last season that saw the Gamecocks finish with a 22-7 overall record and a 12-2 SEC record, with the only two SEC losses both coming to perennial SEC and national power Florida. Juniors Cally Plummer, Bema Dwyer, Megan Hosp and Sam Alban were all named to the All-SEC squad last season. The team also made a return to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence.The La dy Gamecocks traveled to the regional at Lin coln, Nebraska. Carolina beat George Wash ington in the first round by a score of 3-0, setting up a showdown with regional host and No. 1 Nebraska. The Gamecocks nar rowly lost 3-2, with a game five final of 15 13. Nebraska went on to win the national championship. The Gamecocks lost two seniors from last year’s team in Mandy Quarterman and Sara Heri. Quarterman’s replace ment at outside hitter comes with Ya- * 4 jaira Cadet and Hen’s in Bridget White. ♦ Cadet comes from the Domini can Republic, where she was a member of the national team from 1994-96. White comes from the Chicago area, where she played at St. Francis High School, the 2000 runner-up in the state championships. She also plays for the Sports Performance Club, AAU champions in 1999 and 2000, coming in third in the AAU nationals in 2000. The Gamecocks are still solid at setter with Hosp, the only player to play in every game last season. She is backed up by red shirt freshman Amy Pratt from Arizona. In the middle, the Gamecocks will be very solid with Dwyer and Alban returning along with senior Nia Mackie. However, the surprise could come in redshirt freshman Niece Curry, who charts in at 6-foot-4. For the defensive specialists, White will be playing behind senior Liz Price, who was a key player, especially in serving situ ations. With the outside hitters, the Gamecocks will face problems with inexperience and depth. Senior Milicia Perovic should play well in a starting role. Sophomore Mari ana Branquinho played some early in the season, but senior Nadia Seffer ovich, who last season was a solid back up for Quarterman, should provide solid play on the outside. Arugably the hardest adjustment for the Lady Gamecocks will be in the game itself. The new NCAA rules have changed the scoring to a more Olympic-style of scoring in that every V game will be played under “rally scor- \ ing” rules, in that a team does not need to be serving to score a point. Teams will be playing to 30 points in a game. The schedule sees some stiff competition in early-season tournaments. Carolina opens in the Sun Devil Challenge in Tempe, Ariz., on August 31, where they will face Hofstra. They will then face Santa Clara and the host Arizona State. The Lady Gamecocks will then travel to Miami, Ohio, where they will face Purdue, Miami (Ohio) and Illinois State in the Mia mi Classic. The Lady Gamecocks then come back to the Palmetto State where they travel to Clem son on Sept. 12 before hosting the Carolina Classic tournament two days later. The part of the schedule where Caroli na may shine is Sept. 12-28, where they have six straight home matches in SEC play. Last season, the Lady Gamecocks only lost two matches at the Volleyball Competition Facility - Texas Tech in the Carolina Clas sic and Florida in the home finale. A quirk in the schedule has the Lady Gamecocks playing an out-of-conference game after the SEC tournament in Knoxville, Tenn., when they play host to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Nov. 24, hopefully giving the team a game before a possible NCAA first round matchup. The keys to a successful season are ar guably the first and last games of the SEC slate as the Gamecocks face off against Flori da. Florida has not lost in SEC play since 1994, when South Carolina beat the Gators 3-1. To win the SEC Championship and to help prepare for a run in the NCAA tourna ment, a win over Florida is a must. Overall, the outlook is good for the up coming season with a great core of returning players. A lot may depend on how easily the Lady Gamecocks adapt to the new scor ing system. But another year as one of the top teams in the SEC should be no problem for Carolina. USC’s volleyball team was also working during the offseason, competing in several exhibition tournaments during the spring and conditioning during the summer to be better prepared for the upcoming season. “I would say that one of our biggest strengths is our team chemistry,” Christopher said. “We’ve had a rewarding spring for our program.” The spring has been spent traveling to various tournaments around the country, including matches against Clemson, Florida, Santa Barbara and Minnesota. The matches have given the players a chance to stack up against teams other than the SEC and ACC opponents they usually face. “While spring practice has been very tough, it’s been good because we have improved so much as a unit,” two-time All SEC member Cally Plummer said. “1 can’t wait to put on my uniform in September because we have worked hard and it will be exciting to see those results.” Virtually ensuring itself a pre-season top 25 ranking, USC finished the 2000 season ranked No. 22 in the final RPI poll, the highest finish in school history for USC. The Gamecocks had the second best RPI in the SEC with SEC champion Florida finishing at No. 8. “Our goal was to win an SEC Championship in 2000. We will have the same goal in 2001,” Christopher said. “Our RPI finish was attributed to our wins over top 50 teams and no losses that were considered bad losses. Our ultimate goal is to win a national championship. We began that quest in spring practice and the team is working hard every day. “The match against Nebraska gave our team confidence,” Christopher said. “We played that match as competitors. Getting into the NCAA’s is a new season. For our team, we were disappointed in how we competed in the SEC Championship so the NCAA’s was an opportunity to gain some of our self-respect back.” HEAD COACH KIM CHRISTOPHER 1 - 1 ■ ■ ■ *•*¥ ■1 ■' 2001 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time »t Sun TVvil rhsllenpe Aug. 31 Hofstra 7 p.m. Sept 1 Sana Clara 3 p.m. - Arizona Sate 9 p.m. it Miami (Ohio) Classic Sept. 7 Purdue 5:30 p.m. Sept. 8 Miami (Ohio) 11:30 a.m. Illinois State 6 p.m. Sept 12 at Clemson 7 p.m. al Carolina Classic Sept 14 MICHIGAN ST. 7 p.m Sept 15 WAKE FOREST 11a.m. JACKSONVILLE ST. 2 p.m Sept. 21 FLORIDA* 7 p.m. Sept. 23 GEORGIA* 2 p.m. Sept. 28 at Mississippi St* 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at Mississippi* 2 p.m. Oct 3 at Kentucky* 7 p.m. Oct 7 at Tennessee* 2 p.m. Oct. 12 ARKANSAS* 7 p.m. Oct. 14 LOUISIANA ST* 2 p.m. Oct. 19 TENNESSEE* 7 p.m. Oct. 21 KENTUCKY* 2 p.m. Oct. 26 AUBURN* 7 p.m. Oct. 28 ALABAMA* 2 p.m. Nov. 2 at Georgia* 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at Florida* 2 p.m. Nov. 15-17at SEC Tournament TBA (Knoxville. Tenn.) Nov. 24NOKTH CAROLINA 2 p.m. * denotes SEC match All home matches played at the Volleyball Competition Center (Adjacent to Carolina Coliseum.) 2001 ROSTER No. Name.Position 11 Sam Alban.MB 7 Mariana Branquinho ... .OH 1 Yajaira Cadet.OH 15 Niece Curry..MB 12 Bema Dwyer.MB 14 Megan Hosp .S 13 NiaMaclde.MB 10 Milica Perovic.OH 8 Amy Pratt .S 17 Cally Plummer.RS 4 Liz Price.DS 6 Nadia Sefferovich .OH 5 Bridgette White .DS HOMETOWNS Alban.Portage, Mich. Branquinho_Sao Paulo, Brazil Cadet .Montecristy, D.R. Christopher.Amarillo, Texas Curry.Kalamazoo, Mich, Dwyer.Tucson, Ariz. Hosp.Pasadena, Calif. Mackie .Cypress, Calif. Perovic ... Belgrade, Yugoslavia Pratt.Chino Valley, Ariz. Plummer_Indian River, Mich. Price .Columbia Sefferovich.Tuscon, Ariz. White.Napierville, 01. CHRISTOPHER’S CAREER RECORD 1987 West Texas State.25-7 1988 West Texas State.32-9 1989 West Texas State.32-8 1990 West Texas State.38-1 ♦NCAA Champions 1991 Northern Arizona.26-8 1992 Northern Arizona_17-11 1993 S. Carolina.15-18 1994 S. Carolina.24-12 1995 S. Carolina.21-11 1996 S. Carolina.22-8 1997 S. Carolina.21-8 1998 S. Carolina .21-11 1999 S. Carolina.14-12 2000 S. Carolina.22-7 TOTAL..330-131 Junior Berna Dywer (left) should be one of the primary hitters in the SEC this season. She will be part of USC's returning six starters. - HUGE ROOMMATE FLOORPLAN - — CONVENIENT TO USC - - LOCATED AT THE RIVER - -AWESOME POOL - — RTNESS CENTER - — TENNIS COURTS — - W/D CONNECTIONS - j - WALK IN CLOSETS - - WE PAY FOR YOUR WATER - (5amecock Sports. When you want more than the score SfMLCC SxfvtcA&iu-c /4%U StuctC* 7le*«/fr? & I^cckcoUC** £**4** ‘Pcc*cc •dTTCSTO 7>t+«e: 748-7403 mw. ctmmtKtfMcutudC*. c*m ' ■•-«*•■ «V. - Its time to say Bye Bye Beach Hello Books! But you can still keep your tan! 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