The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 24, 2004, Image 9
^Volleyball to start SEC play
with Mississippi opponents
By MIQUELJACOBS
THE GAMECOCK
The state teams of Mississippi will be
in town as the USC volleyball team
opens up SEC play this weekend after a
promising non-conference roundup.
Carolina (7-2) will take on Mississippi
State on Friday night in the conference
opener and conclude the weekend with a
match against Ole Miss on Sunday.
i The Gamecocks are 6-0 against the
JMississippi teams in the past three years
and are preparing to keep that streak alive
when the Lady Bulldogs arrive in
Columbia on Friday. Mississippi State (7
5) also opens conference play on the heels
of a victory against UAB on Tuesday. The
hot players for the Bulldogs have been
junior outside hitter Rachel Cooper and
senior libero Ashley Sledge, both all
tournament selections in the MSU Classic
last weekend. Sledge is third in the SEC
with 139 digs, while junior setter Andrea
Mead leads the conference with 25 aces
— just a few of the bright spots for a team
with a first-year coach who has already
doubled last season’s win total of three.
Also traveling from the Magnolia
State are the Rebels of Ole Miss, the
second match of a four-game home stand
for the Gamecocks. The Rebels (7-4) are
hoping to rebound from a disappointing
season last year and make the SEC
Tournament for the first time since 2000.
The addition of Nikki Hill, a two-time
junior-college All-American, and
Ashleigh Shear, a Columbia native and
junior college transfer, have propelled the
Rebels to equal their season total of wins
from last year. Freshman Tara Langley
has also contributed, gaining a career
high 20 digs in a victory over the
University of Illinois at Chicago last
weekend. The key to this season’s
turnaround can be attributed to more
aggressive play with seven players
averaging over two kills per game.
Much like their two opponents,
Carolina has seen a vast improvement
over last season, a year in which USC saw
its first losing season since 1993. A team
that has no seniors on the roster, the
Gamecocks have been led by a core group
of players including juniors Sarah Morgan
and Lauren Ford, team leaders in digs and
kills, respectively. These two, along with
sophomore Shonda Cole, were named to
last weekend’s all-tournament team in the
much-anticipated Gamecock Invitational.
“This was a great weekend for us,”
USC head coach Kim Hudson said
following a sweep at the invitational.
“We played s6me good teams in
Michigan State and Notre Dame, and to
come out with two wins is a good
accomplishment. ”
Indeed, last week’s performance
brings the Gamecocks high aspirations
entering conference play, and the latest
attendance rankings indicate that a nice
sized crowd should be on hand to cheer
the team to conference victories. South
Carolina is ranked 16th in the nation in
average home crowds at 1,110 fans per
match. This ranking is second in the
SEC to Florida, the reigning SEC
Tournament champions.
This weekend’s action begins Friday
night against Mississippi State at 7 p.m.
and concludes against Ole Miss on
Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Gamecocks
will then prepare to take on SEC East
rival and 24th-ranked Tennessee on
Wednesday at 7 p.m. Games are played
at the Volleyball Competition Facility
next to the Carolina Coliseum.
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J GAMECOCK CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE' Every week Jonathan Adam David Wes Steven Dimitri
The Gamecock's readers and ’ Hil|yard Beam stagg Wolfe Van Haren Najim
staff test their sports knowledge SP°rts Edit°r t Ues'gn Viewpoints Copy Reader of
nraHi^innc editor in chief director editor editor the week
with game predictions. (15_n) (19,7) (19,7) (14.12) (21-5) (16-10)
Clemson at 8 Florida State FSUFSUFSUFSUFSUFSU
Syracuse at 12 VirginiaVirginia Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia
Air Force at 14 UtahUtahUtahUtahUtahUtahUtah
Kentucky at 16 Florida Florida Florida Florida Florida Florida Florida
Iowa at 18 MichiganIowaIowaMichigan Michigan Michigan Michigan
Penn. State at 20 Wisconsin Penn St. Wisconsin Wisconsin Penn St. Wisconsin Wisconsin
Vanderbilt at NavyNavyVanderbilt NavyNavyNavyNavy
Alabama at ArkansasArkansas Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Arkansas
NC State at Virginia TechNC State NC State Va.Tech Va.Tech Va.Tech Va.Tech
Troy at USC USC USC USC USC USC USC
28-7 42-7 14-7 24-10 21-7 31-10
WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAMES TO
GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Beam reemerged as a
contender with a week of 8-2. Van Haren continues to clean house with another solid 8-2 week.
■ TROY
Continued from page 8
Troy also looked impressive in its
opening 17-15 win against Marshall.
The Thundering Herd are now 0-3, but
had close losses against Ohio State and
Georgia.
Defensively, Troy held Marshall to
its lowest offensive output in history.
The Herd gained just 177 yards,
including only 25 yards rushing.
Defensive end Demarcus Ware had
three sacks for a loss of 25 yards and
forced three fumbles in the game.
Leak gave Troy the first lead of the
game with a 15-yard touchdown run in
the first quarter. Marshall took the lead
on three-straight field goals but the
Trojans grabbed it back with a field goal
in the third quarter.
Betterson scored on a one-yard run
to provide the final margin.
The ability of the Trojan defense to
come up with big plays was key in their
two upsets. The defense combined to
sack Marshall quarterback Stan Hill
eight times.
They also sacked Tiger Heisman
Trophy hopeful Smith twice. The two
Trojan opponents combined to punt 13
times in the two games while holding
them to 15 points or less.
Troy slipped last week in a loss to
conference foe New Mexico State, as
low offensive output finally caught up
with them. Despite the loss, Holtz and
the Gamecocks are prepared for the
upset-minded Trojan team of the first
two games.
“I expect to see the same team we saw
against Marshall and against Missouri,”
Holtz said. “Our players better be ready,
and I think they will be ready.”
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■ MEN’S SOCCER
Continued from page 8
South Carolina draws the struggling
Deacons at the right time, and an upset
could be in the cards.
“Throughout the years, South
Carolina-Wake Forest has been one of
the bigger games in the South region,
and this year is no exception,” Berson
said of the rivalry. “We certainly have a
challenge ahead of us traveling to their
place.”
Despite two disappointing outcomes,
Berson was encouraged by his team’s
effort in Philadelphia and hopes it will
carry into Friday’s contest.
“We showed real character to come
back, but we let the games get away
from us, and we need to change that. “
The Gamecocks will certainly need
added character to take on this Demon
Deacons squad, but judging from the
Deacons’ play of late, the Gamecocks
should be able to compete for the full 90
minutes.
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■ FRISBY a
Continued from page 8
Ranger is married with six children,
the oldest of whom is in high school
and the youngest, who is less than a
veal . old. He said that as many
members of his family that are
physically able will be at the game
Saturday.
“I don’t about the whole family
because that’s quite a bit of tickets,”
Frisby said, chuckling. “As many as can
make it out will be here.”
When asked if getting in the game
would make his sacrifices worth while
Frisby said, “It’ll be worth it, but again
I’m all for the team. As long as the team
is doing great, then I’m satisfied.”
Frisby is not only drawing interest
from the local media, as his story was
portrayed two weeks ago during ESPN’s
College GameDay.
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. KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECO
USC freshman midfielder Sara Jane Harris, left, gets a foot on the ball before an opponent can rear
it in last week’s victory. The team will face two tough Alabama opponents this weekend on the road
Women’s soccer team
to take on Alabama foes
By BRIAN SAAL
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s soccer team
opens up its conference play this
weekend with a pair of matches against
opponents from the Yellowhammer
State — Auburn and Alabama.
Auburn is 5-2 and is trying to
bounce back from a two-game losing
streak. The Gamecocks have their work
cut out for them, as the Tigers were
ranked as high as No. 17 in the
country. USC will need to stop the
Tigers’ high-powered attack of Sarah
Steinmann and Chrissy Culver.
Steinmann is a senior who had 12 goals
last season, making her a first team All
1 SEC member. Culver is also a senior
who has three goals and two assists to
lead her team. Last year’s Auburn
match-up ended in a double-overtime
tie at Stone Stadium in Columbia.
After facing the Tigers on Friday
night, the Gamecocks will stay in the
Yellowhammer State to face the
Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide is 4
4 this season and is on a three-game
losing streak. The Tide have one of the
best scorers in the SEC in freshman
forward Jordan O’Banion. O’Banion
already has six goals in eight games.
Last year, Carolina ended on top of a 2
0 final against Alabama.
Big news was delivered to Carolina’s
Sarah Lentz when she was told that she
was the SEC defensive player of the
week. The senior co-captain had game
winning goals in the Clemson and
Charlotte games.
Patterns have seemed to set in on
USC lately. Whenever the Gamecocks
win, they win close. Whenever the
Gamecocks lose, they lose big. The
difference in goals scored in the six
wins is 1.6, and 2.3 in the three losses.
The Gamecocks rely on their defense.
They are 1-3 in games that have more
than five goals.
Auburn also relies heavily on its
defense. This game should be a cl<
battle, one in which one goal could
all a team needs. The Tigers h<
opponents to just under one goal ]
game. Auburn has been shut out tw
this season, resulting in their 01
losses. The game will begin at Aubi
at 8 p.m.
Alabama, however, is quite i
opposite. The Tide average about r
and a half goals per game wl
allowing 1.59. The lowest amount
goals scored in an Alabama game \
three when the Tide lost to Jan
Madison by a count of 2-1. This i
classic match-up of stellar defei
versus stellar offense. Carolina m
stop Alabama’s attack in order to p
out the victory in Tuscaloosa
Sunday.
Starting time for Sunday’s game
Alabama is 2 p.m.
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