By: Mason Snyder
After losing to Alabama, USC's volleyball team bounced back with a rout of the Mississippi State Bulldogs Sunday.The Lady Gamecocks led the Crimson Tide in three statistical categories - hitting percentage, aces, and digs, but weren't able to take down Alabama.
Sarah Cline led the Gamecocks with 17 digs and Bridget Denson-Dorman tacked on 40 assists. Hannah Lawing had 16 kills and 13 digs, getting her 8th double double of the season.
Neither team had more than a three point advantage in the first set that was taken by the Crimson Tide. The Gamecocks hitting percentage gained them the following two matches.
They hit .364 and .393 in each of the matches and held Alabama to just .086.
A hard fought fourth and fifth set sent the Crimson Tide back home with an SEC victory.
"I thought we had an opportunity to win, and we just lost focus and let a couple of points get away from us," USC coach Ben Somera said. "Our passing sort of broke down and we missed some opportunities to run the middle."
The Gamecocks hoped to rebound and pick up a second SEC win in four opportunities Sunday when they took on Mississippi State. And they did just that.
Senior Meredith Moorhead led the Gamecocks with a season-high 17 kills and a .625 hitting percentage in their three match sweep.
"It felt great to go out there and help the team get this win," Moorhead said. "It was a must-win and I was glad to play well today."
The Gamecocks were down 4-1 early in the first set but came back to post a 25-22 win. The only other time they trailed was in the second set when they were down 21-20, but came back to win 26-24.
Their 25-17 rout in the third allowed the Gamecocks to gain their second SEC win.
The volleyball team will host Tennessee Friday night at home at 6 p.m.
The Women's soccer team screeched out a win of their own to improve to 10-0-0 and 2-0 in SEC play Sunday against Kentucky.
The lone goal came in the 56th minute when Freshman Christine Watts drove the shot in the back of the net.
The Wildcats dropped to 3-4-3 and 0-2 in SEC play.
Junior Goalkeeper Mollie Patton continued her dominance by posting her eighth shutout of the year to set a USC single-season record. It was also the 15th of her career. She has allowed just one goal in nearly 870 minutes of play this season.
The Gamecocks will play Ole Miss in Oxford on Friday.
