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Volleyball squad taking on SEC foes BY COURTNEY KELLER THE OAMECtfcK The South Carolina volleyball team (12-3,5-3 SEC) will play host to Tennessee at 7 tonight and Kentucky at 2 p.m. Sunday. The No. 22 Gamecocks are coming off a big 3-1 win against LSU. The vic tory helped the Gamecocks re main on the USA Today/AVCA poll for the seventh straight week, checking in at No. 22. USC will be looking for re venge when the Lady Volunteers (9-7, 3-4) come into town. Tennessee gave USC its second conference loss of the season ear lier this month, sweeping the Lady Gamecocks 3-0. That loss marked the first time USC had fallen to the Volunteers since 1993. The Lady Volunteers are com ing off a weekend where they end GamecocKs, goaiKeeper Mise Matthews has posted 33 saves and has blocked .868 percent of shots on the goal. Carolyn Ortega has Baines Pros are difficult sell in Deep South CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 the game. People were left at con cessions or behind a curtain that blocks half the stadium. But Atlanta isn’t the only city in the South that has this prob lem. You don’t even have to go very far east to find a city just like it. The Queen City to the north of Columbia, Charlotte, has the same problem. Twice in the last 15 years, the mayor, city council men and other officials were duped into thinking there was a place for pro sports in Charlotte. First, it was the Hornets in the late 1980s. For about six or seven years, the Hornets continually sold out the newly built “Hive.” But after that, it didn’t take long fnr fane tn lncn i v»inmol TVimr didn’t sell out a single game dur ing the regular season. Even last year, the Hornets had a pretty good team and caught momentum after upset ting the Bucks at Milwaukee in the first round. The Hornets ac tually sold out their first game back in the playoffs against the Bucks. At the time, the Hornets’ own ership wanted a new coliseum and said they were going to move to Memphis if they didn’t get it. The Charlotte citizens voted against a referendum that would build a new arena. Stupidly, the owners thought that since the Hornets sold out the playoff game, it meant the en thusiasm was back. Of course, on cue, the Hornets didn’t sell out any more games in the playoffs. The Vancouver Grizzlies won out on the Memphis bid. were led by junior Anne Koester, who posted a career-best .900 hit ting percentage. Lady Vol head coach Rob Patrick is concerned to be play ing a team at Carolina’s level. “South Carolina is a tough place to play, but I think our team is ready,” Patrick said. “We have to stay focused and stick to the game plan. We know that USC will be really up to play us because we beat them last time, so we have been talking a lot about keeping our energy level high.” Carolina posted a 3-1 win against the Wildcats in Lexington on Oct. 5. USC has earned its high rank ing from its strong offensive play. Carolina is averaging 16.2 kills a game along with 14.6 assists. They have also notched in an av erage of 14.6 digs per game and 2.2 blocks per game. The Lady Gamecocks are led by junior Cally Plummer, who has posted double-digit kills in 13 of the teams’ 15 matches. She also tied her own school record for aces against Clemson last week when she made eight. Nadia Sefferovich is right behind Plummer in kills, as she is aver aging 3.02 kills per game. Megan Hosp remains the team’s dig leader with a 2.79 average, while Sam Alban has been pivotal for the defense with 41 blocks this year. Both of this weekend’s match es will be played at the Volleyball Competition Facility. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com. uui occu ao uiuuu auiiuu ao Matthews, but is credited with a 3-0 record and has put up 12 saves this far into the season. The goal keepers have only allowed one second-period goal through 13 games. The two have also posted six shutouts on the season. The Lady Gamecocks will re turn home next week to face Mississippi on Friday night at Stone Stadium. This brings me to one of the most pathetic sights I have ever seen. This past Sunday, the Charlotte Panthers (who in the Palmetto State lays claim to them anyway?) had a less than half-full stadium against one of the best teams in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints. This is the team everyone was crazy about when they began their franchise a few years ago. Most fans in the area were Redskins fans, and the arrival of the Panthers only infuriated them because the Panthers start ed being televised on Fox instead. It’s not a new problem, either. The Panthers started getting hor rible crowds in their state-of-the art stadium two years ago. How can these teams get un popular so fast? The answer lies in where they are located. These teams are right in the heart of the Deep South, where almost everybody is inter ested in college sports. Atlanta is full of Georgia fans and the occasional Georgia Tech fan. Charlotte is full of Tar Heel and Gamecock fans. These professional teams would be much better off if they packed their bags and left. Then these popular colleges could make better use of their stadi ums. This most logical thing to do would be to renew one of the fiercest rivalries in the country: the rivalry between the Gamecocks and Tar Heels. USC students probably don’t remem ber it, but many Gamecock fans hated the Tar Heels more than Clemson in the pre-80s. The cam paign should begin now. This way Ericsson Stadium and maybe even the Charlotte Coliseum can be used to its full extent. ed their four-match winning streak. The streak came to an end Sunday at the hands of Alabama. With the 3-1 victory, the Crimson Tide also ended its seven-match losing streak. It is only the sec ond time Alabama has beaten Tennessee in Knoxville. Tennessee was led by Ariana Wilson, who averaged 4.3 kills per game and a .459 hitting percent age this past weekend. Kentucky also suffered a defeat last Friday to Alabama. The Wildcats (9-7, 3-4) had a season low hitting percentage (.069) against the Crimson Tide. However, the Lady Wildcats made a comeback by sweeping Auburn on Sunday, reaching a season-high hitting percentage (.333) in the win. The Wildcats Soccer Gamecocks visit SEC opponents CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 Defensively for the Lady j--JUST IN!-1 7x10 CAR FLAG www.jewel ryware nouse. com l 2909 Platt Springs Rd. • 7007 Two Notch Rd. • 817 St. Andrews Rd. f Gamecock Sports Challenge Tournament Carolina to face Marylandfirst CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 the second half of its regular season, Berson is hoping for positive results. “This is a beginning of an other stretch for us,” he said. “We’ve got eight games now and two tournaments that are very important for our team on a national level.” Friday’s game will be only the team’s second since the Clemson loss Oct. 7. Berson said the time off following that loss has helped the team recov er from a flurry of games in late September. “They came out of last week really banged up,” he said. “But w xui icui ui can, x ixxxxxxv wc wcic able to regenerate a little bit. I think we’re coming into this in pretty good shape.” USC and Maryland will play at 7 p.m. Friday, following the tournament’s opening game at 5 p.m. between Rutgers and Charleston. Play will resume Sunday at 11 a.m. with Maryland and Charleston fac ing off, and after that game USC and Rutgers will take the field at 1:30 p.m. to conclude tourna ment play. “This is a real opportunity,” Berson said. “Not only for our players to line up against some of the best programs in colle giate soccer, but also for our fans to see good teams from other areas.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Sports Asst.Sports Sports Defending Gl,lnetL& Reader of Editor Editor Columnist Champion the week (20-14) (19-15) (19-15) (20-14) (18_16) (18-16) jgjjj 11 TENNESSEE AT ALABAMA ||g | FsT[ LSU AT MISS. STATE 5 N.C. STATE AT 23 GA TECH ^ JgJ \7ZZ & & © © & © © . Carolina hopes Vanderbilt will cough the ball up easily, photo by aaron hark Football Gamecocks looking to jump-start season CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 given up several big rushing per formances this year, though no team has managed to break the Gamecock defense wide open (ex cept for one play at Kentucky). USC still could have trouble con taining Thomas and Williams, whose presence complements Zolman’s passing attack extreme ly well. ADVANTAGE: VANDERBILT Special Teams: Kicking game: Dan Weaver probably had more difficulty swal lowing last week’s loss than any one else did. But make no mistake — the blocked field goal (which was on target) came as a result of Razorback Carlos Hall’s incredi ble leap, not because of any errors by the kicking team. Weaver’s consistency has been excellent (on field goals) to this point. Tyeler Dean, likewise, has shown terrific distance on some clutch punts from deep in Gamecock territory. Vanderbilt’s Chuck Folino has only three field goals on the year, which is odd considering the Commodores’ tendency to sputter in the red zone. ADVANTAGE: CAROLINA Returns: Kick returns have not been USC’s strong suit. The Gamecocks rank at the bottom of the SEC in punt returns and kick off coverage, but Vanderbilt is not much better. Despite the team’s low average in return yardage, Derek Watson has the highest kickoff return average in the con ferencevat 40.3 yards per return. Anyone who saw last year’s game against Mississippi State knows Watson is capable of bringing a re turn all the way backhand it’s only a matter of time before he does it again. ADVANTAGE: CAROLINA Outlook: Vanderbilt’s 0-3 conference record is deceiving at best. The Commodores held Alabama with out a touchdown and only lost by three. Auburn — who managed to upset No. 2 Florida — only beat Vandy with a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt’s 30-14 loss to Georgia was closer than the score indicates. The ‘Dores are hungry for a conference win, and they will likely upset someone in the very near future. USC, though, will be on guard after last week’s loss, and Holtz will make ab solutely sure there is no lack of fo cus anywhere. It will be closer than most Carolina fans would like, but, in the end, the Gamecocks will bounce back to take the W. FINAL SCORE: USC 28, VANDY 24 v ^ If you are ready for a REAL Tailgate Party, then come on by! the Homecoming Great Gamecock of October 20 (USC vs. VANDERBILT) 4:00 - 6:30 PM featuring music by the: FROGMOORES Seawell's Parking Lot - 1125 Rosewood Drive across the street from "the ROCKET" at the State Fairgrounds. The best part is that it is all FREE: Music, Lots of Great Food, Drinks & Door Prizes. Souvenirs for the first 250 USC students in attendance at each Tailgate Party. General Parking is available at Seawell's for $10 per vehicle. II THIS TAILGATE PARTV IS AN ALCOHOL & OTHER DRUG-FREE ENVIRONMENT sponsored by the Russell House Alcohol & Drug Programs. )\ j J j ft Major lunding provided by a grant received from the U5 Department of Education Sale & Drug-Free Schook Program: The Prevention of High-Risk Drinking & Violent Behavior Among College Students Project. ! JJ Actual dates or times may change due to funding or programmatic decisions. For additional information, please call 777-7130. JI Department of Student Life ^ Division of Student & Alumni Services *00 \ \