Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK. Katelyn Panzau, left, and Nicole Miller go up to block a volley against Georgia earlier this season. The Gamecocks will take on SEC West opponents LSU and Arkansas at home this weekend. TJSC battles SEC West opponents By MIQUEL JACOBS THE GAMECOCK ^k With two weeks left before the SEC ^P'ournament, the USC volleyball team faces two crucial match-ups to help cement its spot in the eight-team field. In the last home conference series of the season, Carolina takes on the LSU Tigers tonight and the Arkansas Lady’Backs on Sunday. With four conference games remaining on the season, Carolina is tied for seventh with a record of 11-10 and 4-8 in the conference. All conference victories have come against Western Division foes, as USC has yet to record a win in its own division. This weekend’s match-ups against West leader Arkansas and LSU are opportunities for the Gamecocks to increase their control over the SEC West. Hoping to lead the Gamecocks out ■of their four-game losing streak this weekend will be Shonda Cole and Lauren Ford. Cole has been a consistent source of points for USC as she is fifth in the conference in kills at 3.92 per game. With teammates Katelyn Panzau, Sarah Morgan and Lynae Vanden Hull sharing leadership and responsibilities, Cole has been able to capitalize on the opportunities afforded her. Also leading Carolina into the stretch is Ford, a junior middle blocker. As the only Gamecock to hold SEC player of the week honors this season, Ford has been a huge presence at the net along with Nicole Miller. The duo is fourth and eighth in the conference in blocks per game at 1.38 and 1.09, respectively. Coupled with the play of team assist leader Panzau, Carolina must find a way to turn its fortunes around to secure a better »urnament position. The first test comes against the LSU Tigers (13-9, 5-7 SEC), the sixth placed team ahead of Carolina. A victory would give USC a tiebreaker over LSU, increasing the Gamecocks’ conference ranking. Carolina has had trouble winning games at home this season, going 1-5 in conference play. The Tigers look to take advantage of that and once again defeat the Gamecocks in Columbia, a feat LSU achieved last season for the first time since 1983. Junior transfer students Ivana Kuzmic and Jelena Mijatovic lead the Tigers. Kuzmic, a previous SEC player of the week, leads the conference and is number 16 in the nation with 1.86 blocks per game. Mijatovic is an all around player who is fifth in the nation in service aces per game (0.70) to go along with her team-high 3.34 kills per game and 2.53 digs per game. Libero Rachel Pittman and setter Daniela Romero are also dangerous weapons. Pittman could reach the 700 mark with 17 more digs, while Romero is sixth in the SEC with 11.12 assists per game. Carolina’s final home conference match will come Sunday against the Western Division-leading Arkansas Lady’Backs. Arkansas is on a six-game win streak, carrying a record of 13-10 and 9-3 in the SEC. The match will be Carolina’s second televised match of the season, being carried by Fox Sports as the SEC Match of the Week. Despite being slowed earl^ in the season by injuries, Arkansas has returned to expected form in time for conference play. The Lacly’Backs rely on stiff defense, a strategy that has served them well enough to sit comfortably at the third spot for the tournament. As the second best team in the conference in blocks, Jennifer Haaser, Karla Crose and Amy Allison form a trio of reliable net players. Haaser ranks third and Crose fifth in the league, while Allison averages more rhan one block a game. Freshman Ashley Miller, third in the conference with 3.66 digs per game, is also turning heads. Friday’s match with LSU will be at 7 p.m., and Sunday’s televised match against Arkansas will conclude the weekend at 1 p.m. All matches are held at the Volleyball Competition Facility on the corner of Park and Blossom streets. Comments on this story? E-mail garnecocksports®gwm.sc. edu Soccer enters tournament after beating No. 13 Duke By JIM ROCHE THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s soccer team (10-5-1) heads to the Lowcountry today to take on Coastal. Carolina (9-6, 3-3 SEC) in the 2004 Charleston Tournament. USC is coming off a convincing 1-0 victory over No. 13 Duke on Sunday at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium in Columbia. USC freshman forward Sebastian Lindholm scored his fourth goal of the season to lead the Gamecocks to victory. Coastal Carolina is coming off a two-game win streak against Winthrop and VMI, shutting out VMI, 5-0, and Winthrop, 2-0. Big South player of the week, junior Jordie Hughes, scored two first-half goals to lead Costal Carolina past the Winthrop Eagles. Hughes first struck at 30:29 when he took a pass across the baseline from senior Boyzzz Khumalo to score his eighth goal of the year. Hughes got his second goal of the game and his ninth of the year from freshman Lachlan Cahill to give Coastal Carolina what it needed for the win. Freshman goalkeeper Jeremy Wolfgang recorded his fifth shutout of the season for the Chanticleers. With the season winding to a close, Lindholm leads the Gamecocks in points with 11. Nine USC players have scored this year, including four in double digits. On defense, the Gamecocks look tough with junior Greg Reece and sophomore Makan Hislop playing in every match this year. Reece and Hislop, along with USC goalkeeper Brad Guzan, have helped the Uamecocks preserve hve shutout games this season. Guzan is ranked 17th in the country among goalkeepers with 90 saves and a .833 save average. Hughes leads the Chanticleers in points with 34. Coastal also has a scoring threat in Khumalo who has six goals and 13 assists for 25 points. Five of Hughes’ 12 goals were game winners, while Khumalo has two game winners. Wolfgang has been tough all year, giving up less then one goal a game with 18 saves and a .900 save percentage. USC is nationally ranked in three polls this week: No. 24 in the Soccer America poll, No. 22 in the Soccer Times poll and No. 25 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. USC accepted an invitation Oct. 28 to become an affiliate with Conference USA starting in the 2005 season, its first affiliation with a league since joining the Metro Conference in the 1993-94 season. With only Kentucky ana vanaerDiit naving mens soccer teams, the SEC cannot make a full schedule. The Gamecocks today head to Patriot’s Point in Mount Pleasant to play Coastal Carolina at 5 p.m. in the College of Charleston’s Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic. USC will wrap up the tournament Sunday at 2:30 p.m. against Alabama A&M. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecocksports@girm.se. edu I_I NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Michael Sambursky cuts through the Duke defense in Sunday's 1-0 win oyer the No. 13 Blue Devils. ■ ARKANSAS Continued from page 8 in a shootout to Ole Miss at home and nearly lost to Kentucky. The Gamecocks’ most recent loss came at Williams-Brice last Saturday against No. 11 Tennessee. Despite leading 8-0 for much of the first half, Carolina suffered a breakdown in the third quarter. Tennessee scored 29 unanswered points beginning late in the second quarter and added two more scores to win 43-29. With four games remaining, Arkansas needs to win three to become bowl eligible. USC faces a similar task, as the Gamecocks need one win to move on to the postseason. I The Arkansas game will be the Gamecocks’ last at home and possibly their best chance to get their sixth win, as the remaining two road games are at Florida and Clemson. Many USC fans know about the losing tradition head coach Lou Floltz and his team are trying to break. If Carolina fails to win one of the three remaining games, it will be the third year in a row this has happened. Arkansas is coming off a victory in the Independence Bowl a year ago. The fate of each team will depend heavily on the play of the quarterbacks. Arkansas’ Jones has been at his best against the Gamecocks in previous match-ups. The 6-foot-6-inch signal caller has thrown five touchdowns and no interceptions against Carolina in their last two meetings. Jones is known for beating teams with both his arm and his legs. “When you think of Arkansas, you think of Jones. Six-foot-6, probably 4.3 speed (in the 40-yard dash) and I’ve never seen someone tackle him one-on one,” Holtz said Monday in a news conference. USC senior quarterback Dondrial Pinkins will make his last home appearance on Saturday. Despite an injured shoulder, Pinkins posted strong numbers against Tennessee, notching 369 yards and three touchdowns while completing 30-of-42 passes. Holtz said that Pinkins made just one mistake the entire game, an interception in the end zone. While the teams appear similar, the outcome of the upcoming game will set them apart. The winner will move one step closer to a bowl game while the loser will fall farther from the postseason. If USC loses, it either has to beat Florida or face an instate showdown with Clemson to become bowl eligible. Comments on this stoiy? E-mail gamecockspoits@girm.sc. edu ■ HOGS Continued from page 8 notice it.” This is a big game for both teams, as it could be the difference in bowl eligibility for either team. “Coach Holtz is telling (South Carolina), ‘Beat Arkansas and you’re in a bowl,”’ Huckeba said. “They’re looking at it from that standpoint, and we are, too. Both teams are going to be hyped up, and it’s going to come down to who wants it more.” On top off being a big game, the sentimental value of student-versus teacher will come into play. Several Arkansas coaches worked or played for Holtz. “It’s kind of special for all of us,” said Arkansas assistant coach Mike Markuson, who was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame under Holtz. “Bobby Allen, coach Nutt, Dave Wommack, James Shibest played for (Holtz). I think Danny [Nutt] got a taste of him. When you play against one of your old mentors, that’s the way I look at it. As a young coach, it was a great experience for me.” USC and Arkansas will kick off at 11:30 a.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium. The game will be televised by Jefferson Pilot Sports. ■ BOWL Continued from page 8 have never done. The 24 seniors that will run out of the tunnel for the last time include starters Dondrial Pinkins, Matthew Thomas, Brian Brownlee, Jonathan Alston and John Strickland on offense, as well as George Gause, Darrell Shropshire, Preston Thorne, Marcus Lawrence, Jamacia Jackson and Taqiy Muhammad on defense. Carolina will not only try to conquer bowl eligibility Saturday, but also will try to overcome the issue of winning at home. The Gamecocks are 2-3 at home this fall with their home wins coming over lightweights South Florida and Troy. The last SEC win for the Gamecocks at home came against Vanderbilt on Oct. 25, 2003. “We’re 3-0 in the SEC on the road and 0-3 at home,” Holtz said. “Maybe we feel a little more pressure playing at home. 1 don’t know.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.se. edu GAMECOCK CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGE: Every week, Jonathan The Gamecock’s readers and Hillyard staff test their sports knowledge Sports with game predictions. l==_==^_ (55-31) »2 Oklahoma at 22 Texas A&M Oklahoma Minnesota at 5 Wisconsin Wisconsin Notre Dame at 9 Tennessee Notre Dam< Maryland at 12 Virginia Virginia Purdue at 20 IowaPurdue 19 Oklahoma St. at 6 Texas Texas Clemson at 11 Miami_Miami_ Georgia Tech at NC State_GT^ _ Kansas State at MissouriMissouri Arkansas at USC USC 28-7 Adam David Beam Stagg Editor Design in chief director (57-29) (62-24) Oklahoma Oklahom Wisconsin Wisconsi ; Tennessee Tennesst Virginia Virginia Purdue Purdue Okla. St. Texas Miami Miami ~GT NC State KSUMissouri use use 35-31 28-14 Wes Steven Scott Wolfe Van Haren Davis Viewpoints Copy Reader of editor editor the week (50-36) (63-23) (55-31) a Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma i Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin :e Notre Dame Tennessee Tennessee Virginia Virginia Maryland Purdue Iowa Iowa TexasTexasTexas Miami Miami Miami NC State NC State NC State KSUMissouri KSU USC USC Arkansas 9-6 21-7 25-19 WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEiEK’S GAMES TO GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Staggand Van Haren stayed atop the standings with 8-2 weeks. Van Haren holds a vulnerable one-game lead over Stagg. KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA’S 4TH ANNUAL-KAPPA KICKOFF Flag Football Competition & Battle of the Bands $3 Tickets will be sold in advance on Greene St. November l-5th Or purchase them at the gate! Free Food, tons of music & prizes! Nov. 7 Competition from 10am-6pm at Davis Field Money ?o benefit READING IF FUNDIMENTAL Program ft Queen for a Day.