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MEN'S SOCCER vs. Portland at Husky Fever Classic, 5 p.m. Friday PONTArT ITS WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Georgia Southern at UGA/Nike OKJiy IrAU I G vj Tournament, 5 p.m. Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? VOLLEYBALL at LSU, 8 p.m. Friday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com FOOTBALL at Tennessee, 7:45 p.m. Saturday T 1 USC at Tennessee 7:45 p.m. Saturday Knoxville, Tenn. TV: ESPN BY JONATHAN HILLYARD THE GAMECOCK The USC football team (3-1, 0-1 SEC) will look to beat Tennessee (3-0,1-0 SEC) on Saturday for the first time since 1992. Halloween of 1992 was a historic day for USC football as the team upset the 16th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers 24-23 in Columbia. Hank Campbell’s tackle of UT running back James Stewart on a potential game-winning two-point conversion produced a feeling that has been absent at USC for 10 years. That was the last time, and one of only two times in history, that Carolina defeated the Volunteers. The Gamecocks have also failed to defeat the Vols under UT head coach Phillip Fulmer, who is 10-0 versus USC since 1993. “We have a very big challenge this week versus South Carolina,” Fulmer said. “It’s been a battle for the last four years. You can read for yourselves how close the games have been. Not one of them has been easy.” Each of the past three meetings between these two teams has been decided by a touchdown or less. Overall, UT holds a 17-2-2 advan tage in the series that began in 1903, the other Gamecock victory. The Gamecocks are winless in 11 tries at Knoxville. UT has won 60 of its last 68 games at home and is 73-12 there since 1990. A bright spot, however, is that one of those 12 losses came at the hands of a Notre Dame team coached by USC’s Lou Holtz, who is 1-5 all time versus Tennessee. “We didn’t play well in our first road game at Georgia, and now we have to go up to Tennessee and play very well. I don’t know what to expect,” Holtz said. South^-Carolina will face a charged-up Volunteer team that is coming off a big win over rival Florida last week in The Swamp. “We’re very happy with last week’s game and effort,” Fulmer said. “It’s very important that we put that behind us as quickly as we can and turn all our attention to South Carolina.” The eighth-ranked Volunteers are on top of the SEC East in the standings, as well as in various statistical categories. UT is second in the conference in rushing of fense at 212 yards per game, just ahead of Carolina, which averages 181 yards per contest. The run defense of USC, which is currently giving up 118.8 yards per game, is banged up and will have a tough task against the UT offensive line. The Tennessee of fensive linemen average 305 pounds a person. The most impressive statistic for the Volunteers is the measly 53.3 yards Tennessee is giving up per game on the ground, which ranks first in the SEC. Carolina will need a big day from its run ning backs. Demetris Summers seems to have received the nod from Skip Holtz after running fr , 161 yards and three touchdowns versus the University of Alabama-Birming ham. Daccus Turman could also be a factor, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The rushing attack also suf fered last weekend as offensive lineman Chad Walker dislocated his kneecap and suffered cartilage damage. He had surgery Wednesday and will be out for the year. If Tennessee has a weakness, it’s the passing game. Its pass de fense ranks 10th in the conference, while the passing offense ranks eighth. Defensively, the Gamecocks will have to put pressure on Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen, who is 58.6 percent in completion. Carolina defensive tackle Preston Thome, who tore a pair of ligaments and suffered other dam age to his right knee last week, is out for the season. Recovery time for his type of injury is typically about a year. Linebacker Ricardo Hurley said that he would make the trip to Knoxville and play de spite an ankle injury that has bothered him. Tennessee is the third ranked opponent that Carolina has faced already this season and the second top 10 opponent on the road. The game is a sellout and could be the largest crowd the Gamecocks have, ever played for. Kickoff is at 7:45 p.m. and the game will be on ESPN; it will be the second time USC has been televised nationally this year. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK USC’s Deandre’ Eiland and Dunta Robinson make a tackle against UAB. Carolina plays Tennessee on Saturday night. Men’s soccer to head to Seattle for Husky Fever Classic PHOTO BY MARK SCHILLING/THE GAMECOCK Ayo Aklnsete dribbles past an Appalachian State defender In Sunday's 1-0 win. Akinsete leads the team with 14 points heading into this weekend’s games against Portland and Washington. BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK The undefeated USC men’s soc cer team will get a chance to visit the West Coast this weekend to play some tough competition. No. 11 Carolina (7-0-0) is taking on Portland and Washington be ginning Friday at the 15th annual Husky Fever Classic in Seattle. The Gamecocks will play the Pilots on Friday and host No. 22 Washington on Sunday. USC had several days to pre pare as the team has been off since last Sunday after holding off Appalachian State 1-0. That win helped the Gamecocks move up four spaces from last week’s No. 15 slot in the NSCAA/Adidas Poll. Portland (3-5) comes into the classic winless on the road, losing its last three games. The Pilots have dropped matches to three ranked opponents, including No. 12 Oakland, No. 2 UCLA and Washington. The Pilots won’t have to face Washington again this weekend. Portland has also lost to two formerly ranked teams in Cal State Fullerton and Creighton. In the most recent game against UCLA, Portland held off the Bruins in the first period, allowing no shots on goal before halftime. Early in the second pe riod, UCLA scored two goals in less than two minutes and kept the Pilots from putting up any of fense to win 2-0. It’s been a tough start in 2003 for a team that returned seven starters from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad. The Pilots made it to the second round before losing to Stanford and are the de fending West Coast Conference champions. The Pilots are led this season by Christopher Sanders, who leads the team in points with sev en and is tied with Alejandro Salazar in goals with three. Goalkeeper Luis Robles has given up an average of 1.22 goals per game and has recorded 36 saves. This is the third meeting be tween the Gamecocks and Portland, with the Pilots winning the first game in 1980 and Carolina taking the second meet ing in 1992. The Gamecocks will end the Husky Fever Classic by taking on their first ranked team in Washington (4-0-1). The Huskies debuted this week in the poll after winning the Marquette Invita tional, where the team knocked off Michigan and Marquette last weekend. C.J. Klaas nailed a penalty kick in the 88th minute to beat Michigan 3-2. Washington scored early against Marquette and held off a late rally by the Golden Eagles to win 2-1. Washington’s wins made it the rT. only undefeated team in the Pac- *° 10 this week. Klaas, who was named tourna ment MVP last week, and Leo Totev are tied as team leaders in points with seven each, while Totev leads the team in goals with three. Goalkeeper Danny Waltman has given up an average of .095 goals per game and has allowed a total of five goals this season. USC is returning the favor to Washington after the Huskies made the trip to Columbia last year. Carolina won the match 3-1 and has a 2-0-1 series-record against Washington. The Huskies have fared well in their own tournament, winning ms seven titles, while Portland has ^ taken five of them. The Gamecocks’ battle with Portland is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, with Sunday’s match against Washington starting at 4:30 p.m. SEC foe Kentucky is also competing in the classic. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Volleyball to open SEC season this weekend at LSU, Arkansas BY WES WOLFE THE OAMECOCK USC’s volleyball team (6-6) will be traveling across the Mississippi River this weekend to go up against LSU (5-8, 0-1 SEC) and Arkansas (8-4,1-0 SEC). Last season’s swing through Arkansas and Louisiana saw Carolina beat both schools in four games. The Gamecocks leave town with some good news after teammates Lauren Ford and Lynae Vanden Hull were named to the Gamecock Invitational All-Tournament Team. Ford led the team with a .329 hitting average, and Vanden Hull led the team with 44 kills over the past weekend. The LSU game opens Carolina’s SEC season, but the Gamecocks’ nonconference schedule wasn’t ex actly easy. USC played six ranked teams and beat two of them. Carolina also handed George Washington its second loss in 12 matches. LSU’s last game before playing USC was, ironically, against Arkansas. The Tigers lost in four games but kept it close in each ga&e. LSU has only played one game against a ranked opponent this season — Kansas State — who soundly beat the Tigers 30-15,30 14 and 30-14. The Tigers’ Rachel Pittman leads the team with a .333 hitting average this season, while sopho more Megan Road trip: Heinz leads LSU in FRIDAY blocks with USC vs. LSU 43. Addition Baton Rouge, La. ally, junior 8 p.m. Regan Hood SATURDAY leads the USC vs. team in kills Arkansas with 228. Fayetteville, Ark. Hood also 2:30 p.m. had a fine sophomore year last season by leading the team in solo blocks, block assists and total blocks. Two days after taking on the Tigers, USC will have to travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to play the Lady Razorbacks. The Lady ’Backs have had a successful run entering their 10th year of competition. In eight of the previous nine years, Arkansas has been the best team in the SEC West. Arkansas has also been SEC Tournament runner-up six of nine years and won the tournament in 1997. T^ie Lady ’Backs have been dominant in the SEC recently by winning 27 of their last 32 conference matches, dating back to 2001. Arkansas only played one ranked team this season, falling to Missouri in four games at the 2003 Quality Inn Tiger Invitational. All except one match, however, have been played on the road. The Lady ’Backs’ first home match came last Sunday with a win against Wichita State in four games. The season did not start out so well for Arkansas, though. After winning its season opener against Toledo in five games, Arkansas dropped three straight matches against Montana State, Missouri and Southwest Missouri State. Senior Sara Kincaid leads Arkansas in hitting and is tied with Jennifer Haaser for the team lead in blocks. Kincaid’s blocks per-game average of 1.6 was the best in the SEC last year and tied for best on the team in blocks. Haaser was second on the team in average kills last season and was SEC Freshman of the Year in her first season with the Lady ’Backs. Carolina travels to Baton Rouge, La., to take on LSU on Friday at 8 p.m. and plays Arkansas on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@kotmail.com PHOTO BY MARK SCHILLING/THE GAMECOCK USC's Niece Curry prepares for a spike set up by Katelyn T’anzau in last weekend’s win over the Duke Blue Devils. The Gamecocks will play at LSU on Friday and Arkansas on Sunday.