Pictured: Kentucky setter Sarah Rumely (UK Photo)

No. 21 UK Roars Back to Defeat Northwestern

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Behind a dazzling offensive performance the No. 21 Kentucky volleyball team roared back to a 3-1 victory over visiting Northwestern after dropping the opening frame to begin the year in front of 1,520 fans at Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky claimed the victory by set scores of 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22.

A number of Wildcats had tremendous opening day performances including a career-best effort from sophomore middle blocker Gretchen Giesler. Giesler posted career-best numbers in kills (10) and blocks (4) while making her very first career start.

UK's director of the offensive unit, Sarah Rumely, tallied 54 assists in leading UK to 61 kills on the night on a .272 hitting percentage. After a shaky start where the Wildcats hit under .100, UK fired back with hitting percentages of .381, .333 and .359 in the ensuing stanzas.

"It was great to get the first win, but we did start out a little slow in the first set," said Kentucky coach Craig Skinner. "After that first set we hit over .330 in each set, so it was a great match offensively."

The junior tandem of Sarah Mendoza and Lauren Rapp led the offensive production with 17 kills apiece. They both also notched double-double efforts. Rapp scooped up 11 digs and Mendoza contributed with 10.

Defensively, junior Laura Stokowski was a fixture in the back-row matching a career-high with 17 digs in the opening effort. Rapp paved the way at the net turning back a team-best five attacks.

Neither team got off to a great start in the opening set as both teams struggled offensively posting below .100 hitting percentages. Mendoza, however, jumped out to a quick start with four kills in the opening frame.

Rapp exploded in the second set rolling in helping the Wildcats roll to an easy 25-18 victory to tie the match at one set apiece. The junior from Indianapolis tallied 10 kills in the stanza alone, while Rumely dished out 16 assists.

Kentucky's defense got in on the action in the third set tallying 5.5 team blocks in helping UK to a 25-21 set victory to break the set-tie. Mendoza had seven kills on a .538 attack percentage as Kentucky began to pull away.

In the deciding set, Mendoza and Rapp combined for seven kills and the team struck for three blocks. Junior Blaire Hiler contributed four kills in the frame to aid the Wildcat cause.

With the opening day victory, UK is now 5-0 under Skinner in opening day matches.

The Kentucky Classic resumes Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. Kentucky will take on Western Carolina to open the day that will see four matches played at Memorial Coliseum.

Florida International began the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Western Carolina. Olga Vergun led the Golden Panthers with 12 kills in the victory.

Complete coverage of the Kentucky Classic can be found at UKathletics.com including live stats, video feed and recaps following the day's events.

BIG CROWD SEES STATE BLANK JSU IN HAZELWOOD'S MSU COACHING DEBUT

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Senior outside hitter Ioana Demian tallied 11 kills and the Bulldogs hit at a crisp .348 clip Friday night as Mississippi State (1-0) opened the Jenny Hazelwood coaching era with a straight-sets win over Jackson State.

State rallied from a sluggish early start to take the opening set 25-16, rolled impressively to a 25-10 win in the second set and registered a match-clinching 25-19 decision in the final set. The match drew 589 fans, the second-largest volleyball attendance at the Newell-Grissom Building.

"This was a great team win… great team effort tonight," said Hazelwood, the holds most of MSU's single match, season and career assists records. "It didn't matter if it was a senior or a freshman, they all contributed and played at a high level."

In addition to Demian's 11 kills, the Bulldogs got a nine-kill showing from sophomore middle Caitlin Rance and a pair of seven-kill, no-error performances by freshmen Chanelle Baker and Dravon Rangel. Rangel was a last-minute lineup replacement for sophomore Mandy Mellencamp, who missed the season-opener and her first career start with an illness.

The Bulldogs struggled early, falling behind 3-0 and trailing 9-4 to open the match. But State went on a 10-run with senior setter Dorey Gray at service. State bolted to a 14-9 advantage and never looked back in taking the opening set. MSU hit at a match-best .429 clip in the second set, racing to an early 11-2 advantage en route to a lop-sided 25-10 win.

In the deciding third set State blitzed to a 5-0 start, then turned back a mid-match challenge by the Tigers during a run that saw JSU lead 12-11. But the Bulldogs showed some muscle at the net and rolled on to a 25-19 win. Rangel tallied two of her match-high five blocks in the final set and fellow rookie Baker added five blocks, including the only solo block of the match, the lead State to an 8-0 edge in total team blocking.

Setter Dorey Gray registered a double-double, backing her 30 assists with 10 digs. She also served up three of MSU's six aces. Demian, State's other senior, tallied nine digs.

JSU got six kills from Ebonee Dawson and 10 digs each by LaToya Clark and Whitney Nowlin.

It was the sixth consecutive season-opening win for the Bulldogs, who resume play in the season-opening MSU Maroon Classic with a pair of Saturday matches. State tests McNeese State (1-0) at 12:30 p.m. and Arkansas-Little Rock (0-1) at 7 p.m. in the tourney finale.

In Friday's early match, McNeese State's Priscilla Massengale had 15 kills and Chanel Tyler 12 kills and 15 digs tolead McNeese State to a 3-1 win (25-15, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17) over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans got an impressive 18-kills by Anita Bucur and 17 digs by Emily Pepperman. McNeese served up a tourney-high 12 aces in registering its win.

The school attendance mark, 675, was set in 1999, Hazelwood's senior season at State.

"Having a crowd that's really into the match becomes such a big factor, as it did tonight," said Hazelwood. "It plays an unbelievable role in momentum swings. I hope our fans liked the effort and intensity and team play tonight and that they'll want to come back and be a part of our homecourt advantage."

NORTON SHINES IN RAZORBACK DEBUT

FT. WORTH, TEXAS -- Freshman Jasmine Norton welcomed herself to college volleyball leading the University of Arkansas with 23 kills and 17 digs against TCU in the TCU Invitational Friday.

Norton paced Arkansas who dropped the season opener, 24-26, 25-17, 24-26, 25-23, 12-15 to the Horned Frogs.

"I'm really excited about the energy and preparation of that this group brought to the court in the first match of the year against a very veteran team," said Arkansas head coach Robert Pulliza. "We came out and executed. We did some great things.

"Jasmine was phenomenal today," he continued. "We knew all along she was an exciting player to watch and she got herself ready to go and did some great things. Phoebe has been working really hard in preseason and her preparation showed tonight with 29 digs. It was a match high for both teams and we're excited for her and what she's doing."

Norton led all hitters in kill totals and hit .321 in the first match of her collegiate career. Sophomore Kelli Stipanovich had 14 kills and five block assists. Freshman Amanda Anderson added 13 kills and hit .276 while senior Kristin Seaton tallied 10 kills and four block assists for Arkansas.

Sophomore libero Phoebe Bautista posted a career-best 29 digs leading the defense for the entire match. Arkansas finished the match hitting .222 with 66 kills, 56 assists, 79 digs and 10 team blocks. The Razorbacks out-hit TCU, .222-.178, in a match that featured 38 tie scores and 14 lead changes in the five sets.

The match was close in each set but it came down to the fifth frame to decide the winner. TCU leapt out to the quick lead but Arkansas rallied to tie it at five. Arkansas managed a run and took a 12-10 lead but TCU stormed back to tie it at 12. Pulliza burned a timeout but the Horned Frogs held on for the win.

The opening frame was filled with hard hits and fast plays as both teams were happy to face someone other than themselves for the first time this year. TCU grabbed the first lead but the Razorbacks caught up at the five-point mark and went on a six-point run taking a 13-7 lead.

TCU then put together a run of its own tying the set at 15 and both teams seemed to settle into a rhythm as they traded points with neither squad opening more than a two-point advantage.

TCU had set point leading 24-22, but a home team hitting error and kill from Norton tied the set at 24-all. TCU got a kill from Kristen Hester and a Razorback hitting error closed the set with the Horned Frog win, 26-24.

The second set mirrored the first with long rallies and hard-hitting kills. It was Arkansas who opened the lead early and TCU caught back up at eight. A sea-saw battle followed with very few mistakes by either team in the well-played set.

Arkansas squeaked out a two-point, 19-17, lead that prompted a TCU timeout – the first of the set by either team. The Razorbacks broke the huddle on fire closing the set with a 6-0 run. TCU took its second timeout but couldn't stop the inspired play that included two service aces and a kill from Norton.

Norton led all hitters at that point with 12 kills and 11 digs. Arkansas hit .281 in the second frame holding TCU to a .059 mark.

The third set would come down to who had the ball last. The frame was tied 15 times before TCU pulled out the last-minute win.

The Razorbacks held the 22-20 lead when TCU took its first timeout. They scored twice out of the break to tie it at 22-all as Pulliza burned his first of the game. Another TCU point prompted Pulliza to burn his final timeout and Arkansas answered with a kill from Anderson. A sideout battle ensued with TCU getting a kill from Kristen Hester taking a lead it would not surrender in the 26-24 win.

Arkansas was a bit flat to start the fourth set and dug a hole early trailing 9-6. Pulliza didn't wait long and took a timeout to rally the young team in a must-win set to stay alive in the match. At that point in the contest, Arkansas was out-hitting TCU by nearly 100 points and the teams were even defensively.

TCU didn't let up after the break and the Razorbacks struggled to scratch out points as the Horned Frogs' lead continued to grow. Down 9-15 Arkansas dug deep and eked out point after point with Pulliza prowling the sidelines seeming to play each point with the six on the floor.

A kill from Norton followed by a tip from Anderson and a slicing shot from Stipanovich down the line pulled Arkansas within one, 14-15, as TCU called for a timeout to settle down its defense. Three quick points again put Arkansas down by four as Pulliza called a timeout to regroup.

The Razorbacks just wouldn't go away however, chipping away at the score until tying it at 21. It was Arkansas' turn to surge ahead with a tip and block going up 23-21. A TCU timeout couldn't stop the Razorbacks who got an ace from Bentonville, Ark., native Katelyn McCarthy as the scoring continued.

Arkansas was up 24-23 and TCU was whistled for a net call giving the Razorbacks the win and forcing a fifth set.

"We're excited about tomorrow and we have 31 opportunities this season and we have to prepare ourselves to be successful in each opportunities," said Pulliza. "We have an opportunity tomorrow and have to be ready to take it."

Arkansas continues tournament play facing Loyola Marymount at 11 a.m., and Grambling State at 5 p.m. The LMU Lions defeated Grambling State in three in the opening match of the tournament.

For more information regarding Razorback volleyball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL CLAIMS SIXTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON OPENER

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Sophomore Florida outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) tallied a match-high 12 kills on a stellar .647 hitting clip Friday to help lead the No. 8/9 Florida volleyball team to its sixth consecutive season-opening victory, a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) win against UNLV in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

The Gators (1-0) have now won six consecutive season-opening matches and improve to 18-8 all-time in lid-lifting matches. Florida is 15-4 under head coach Mary Wise in season openers.

"I was really pleased with how hard we worked on serving, having an aggressive mentality and not giving up a lot of points in a row," Wise said. "In terms of this win, we knew we had to score. In the games of 19 and 23 points, we had to score, which meant UNLV wasn't committing errors. We saw a lot of good signs from our team tonight. It's all about trying to become a great team come December."

Jaeckel's 12 kills came on 17 swings for a .647 hitting percentage - the second-best hitting efficiency of her career. She also charted a service ace in the match.

"To have 12 kills on 17 swings sure is not bad," Wise said. "The beauty of her being a redshirt is that this is her third year in the making and you can see how strong and physical she is. She's going to be able to score points from all over the court."

Jaeckel was one of three Florida players to register double-digit kills as sophomore right-side hitter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) notched her 22nd career double-double with 12 kills on .261 hitting with 16 assists for a team-high 13.5 points. Sophomore outside hitter Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.) charted 10 kills on .421 hitting and two blocks.

Senior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) led the team's defensive effort with 11 digs, which moves her within 14 digs of breaking into the Southeastern Conference's all-time top-five for career digs. She now has 1,645 career scoops, just one match into her senior campaign.

Junior transfer setter Brynja Rodgers (Iowa City, Iowa/NMSU) dished out a match-high 21 assists in her Florida debut, demonstrating relentless effort and impressive versatility in her sets.

"I saw her throwing the ball back from the deep corner, crashing the floor and setting behind herself and I thought that the Gator fans are only getting a glimpse of what we will see over the next few years from Brynja," Wise said. "I had a few ‘wow' moments myself. She's only been here three weeks and I thought she had a great coming-out party."

Sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) tallied four blocks in the match, picking up where she left off last season at the net.

Florida spent the early part of the first set shaking off the opening-night rust, but used a lengthy service run by Jaeckel to spark a 5-0 Florida run and put the Gators ahead 19-13 in the opening set. After UNLV ran off a pair of points, Johnson and Murphy registered back-to-back kills to put Florida in front 20-15. The Gators scored five of the next six points, thanks to three errors by the Rebels to take a 25-16 opening-set victory. Murphy had four kills in the opening set to lead the way for the Gators.

UNLV took an early 7-3 advantage to begin the second set before Murphy charted a kill and followed with a service ace to stop the Rebels' scoring spree. The two teams continued to battle closely before two consecutive kills by Murphy and a Jaeckel ace tied the score at 14-all heading into a UNLV timeout. Out of the break, the Gators scored four of the next five points to move ahead 18-15.

That run included two kills by Ward and a Cusack ace. With Florida ahead 21-19, Jaeckel posted a kill on two of the next three plays to put the Gators up 23-20. UNLV began inching back into the match at 24-23 on a ball-handling error by Rodgers, but a Jaeckel put-down closed out the 25-23 victory.

The two squads battled closely to start the third set before back-to-back kills by Jaeckel and junior Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) put Florida in front 10-7. The Gators kept rolling to a 16-12 lead after two consecutive UNLV attack errors. A kill by Murphy brought Florida to match point at 24-19 and the Gators capped off the match with a block by Anderson and Ward to clinch the victory 25-19.

UNLV (0-1) was led by seven kills apiece from Cursty Jaeckson and Samantha Noland.

The Gators improve to 3-0 all-time vs. UNLV and 14-6 all-time vs. members in the current alignment of the Mountain West Conference.

Florida returns to action on Saturday when it plays host to Colorado at 7 p.m. ET in the final match of the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational. The match will be carried live on Sun Sports with Larry Vettel and Missy Whittemore, and on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett.

For all of the latest information on Florida Volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow the Gators on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.

The University of Florida is home to the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regional. For ticket information, log on to www.GatorZone.com/tickets.

REBELS FALL TO BYU 3-0, SPLIT MATCHES ON DAY ONE OF TIGER INVITATIONAL

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Ole Miss (1-1) split a pair of matches on the first day of the Missouri Tiger Invitational, defeating Texas State 3-0 in the first match of the day before falling to BYU 3-0 in the second match of the afternoon on Friday.

The Rebels defeated Texas State 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23) in a morning match on the arm of sophomore Katie Norris and freshman Whitney Craven. Ole Miss then fell to BYU in the afternoon match 3-0 (24-26, 20-25, 22-25) to close out their action on the first day of the tournament.

Ole Miss will face host Missouri at noon on Saturday in the Rebels' final match of the weekend event.

"It's always great to come out of the gates and get a 3-0 win over a team that went to the NCAA Tournament last year in Texas State," said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. "This afternoon we came up against a very good and a very big BYU team that did a great job of not making errors. That's an area we are going to have to improve upon.

"We have to be able to make adjustments and we play another quality team tomorrow in Missouri. We have to be ready to come back and play again. This team has a ton of potential and we do some great things. We just have to stay consistent."

Katie Norris led the Rebels against the Cougars as she put down 17 kills on the afternoon. Senior Catilin Weiss hit 389 and tallied eight kills, while junior Miranda Kitts came up with three blocks and seven kills while hitting .312 for the match.

Sophomore libero Morgan Springer led the Ole Miss defense with 13 digs against BYU.

The first set of the match saw BYU move out to an early three-point lead before Ole Miss roared back to move in front of the Cougars 16-14. Ole Miss held the lead briefly before BYU managed to put together its own run and jump back in front of the Rebels 21-18. Again the Rebels answered, moving back out to a 24-23 lead before BYU rattled off three straight scores to claim the set 26-24.

Set two opened with the Rebels taking a 2-0 lead, but it was short-lived as BYU charged out in front 7-3 and never relinquished the lead as the Cougars claimed the second set 25-20.

The third set against BYU was a nip-and-tuck contest with the Cougars taking their largest lead of the set with a four-point lead at 17-13. Ole Miss battled back, cutting the lead to one at 23-22, but BYU notched a pair of scores to claim the match with the 25-22 win in the third set.

REBELS OPEN SEASON WITH 3-0 WIN OVER TEXAS STATE

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Rebel volleyball team got off to a good start to the season as Ole Miss (1-0) picked up a win over Texas State (0-1) in the first match of the Missouri Tiger Invitational on Friday at the University of Missouri.

Sophomore outside hitter Katie Norris led the Rebels with 12 kills, while freshman outside hitter Whitney Craven added 11 kills and hit .368 for the match. Craven also added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season.

Junior setter Emily Kvitle also turned in a solid performance in the starting role as she tallied 33 assists for the three set match.

Texas State was picked to win the Southland Conference in the preseason poll of the league's coaches and is a five-time defending conference champion.

Ole Miss will return to the court at 4 p.m. to take on the BYU Cougars. The Rebels and BYU last met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the 2007 when BYU ended Ole Miss' season on the way to an Elite Eight appearance.

Auburn Crushes Alabama A&M In Season-Opener, 3-0

AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn volleyball team opened up the 2009 season with a 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-9) win over in-state rival Alabama A&M Friday afternoon in the Student Activities Center in the opening match of the War Eagle Invitational.

As a team, the Tigers finished the match with a .469 attack percentage with 35 kills on 64 attempts and just five errors.

"We have some depth and are a much better ball-handling team this year," Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. "We've got some physicality on the court and I think that showed in the first game."

Leading the way for the Tigers was freshman Katherine Culwell, who finished with a team-high eight kills and five service aces. The Dallas native also had seven digs on the day. Sophomore setter Christina Solverson led with 16 assists, while junior Liz Crouch finished with a match-best nine digs.

"It was my first college match so I was a little nervous in the beginning," Culwell said. "I wanted to come out and play like I usually do and as a team, we wanted to come out like we have been at our training camp."

For the Bulldogs, Clarissa Moore led with four kills and libero Rose Corneille finished with a team-high five digs, while setter Natalie Rodriguez had 11 assists.

Auburn opened set one on a 13-point run, highlighted by four service aces from Culwell. Freshman Sarah Bullock also contributed with two kills in the run. The Tigers kept the big lead to finish out the set with a 25-8 win.

As a team, Auburn hit .421 in the first set, while Alabama A&M was limited to -.300.

The Tigers kept up the strong hitting attack, finishing the second set with a .423 attack percentage on 13 kills and just two errors. The two teams went back and forth to open the set until Auburn rattled off four-straight points to take an early 6-2 lead. The Bulldogs came within three at 9-6, but the Tigers pulled away to finish with a 25-11 victory.

Culwell finished with four kills in the set and junior Morgan Johns had three kills on four attempts.

Auburn's most productive offensive attack came in the third set, seeing the team finish with a .579 attack percentage with 11 kills and no errors. At the 4-4 mark, the Tigers went on a 14-1 run and rolled to a 25-9 win.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday for day two of the War Eagle Invitational. Auburn faces UAB in the first match of the day at 10 a.m., and concludes the tournament against Alabama A&M at 1 p.m.

Gamecocks Take Five-Set Decision Over Clemson To Open 2009 Season

CLEMSON, S.C. -- The South Carolina Gamecocks opened their 2009 season in style with a five-set victory over Clemson, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-9, in front of an estimated 2,175 fans in Jervey Gymnasium on Friday night.

Junior Hannah Lawing led all players on the night with a career-best 20 kills while also adding 19 digs. Senior Ivana Kujundzic had a match-high 21 points on 18 kills and three service aces, most in the contest. She also tied for the match best with 25 digs. Senior Sarah Cline added 21 digs, while senior Bridget Denson-Dorman made 58 assists and got 15 digs. Both senior Meredith Moorhead and junior Megan Laughlin had 10 kills and two blocks, while freshman Teresa Stenlund put together a .417 hitting percentage, edging out Lawing's .375 for top honors among Gamecocks. The Tigers' Didem Ege had 25 digs, while Kelsey Murphy put together a double- double with 51 assists and 18 digs. Lia Proctor led Clemson with 15 kills, while Natalie Patzin and Alexa Rand both added 12. Brittany Fennell finished with 11 kills, and Cansu Ozdemir added 13 digs.

The Gamecocks ran out to a 5-1 first-set lead behind two early kills from Kujundzic and another by Lawing. The Tigers fought back with a three-point run that made it 6-5, getting kills from Proctor and Murphy and an ace from Sandra Adeleye. After the Tigers tied it at 9-9, the teams traded points twice before the next South Carolina run. The four-point swing included kills from four different Gamecocks, including a back-row attack from Kujundzic. The squads mostly traded points the rest of the way, with both taking consecutive points towards the end of the set. Laughlin ended the frame with a guided tip toward the back right corner, giving the Gamecocks the 25-20 set victory. Kujundzic had seven kills on a .700 hitting percentage to go with a set-best six digs. As a team, Carolina hit .410 and compiled 19 digs in the frame.

Clemson started the second hot, getting out to a 6-0 lead that was helped by three Carolina hitting errors. The Gamecocks got it back to three at 7-4 after a pair of Lawing kills, but the Tigers took six of seven points later to make it 15-7. A three-point Garnet run closed the gap to 17-11, while a later stretch where Carolina took five of six points made the Tiger lead just three at 21-18, forcing the hosts to use their final timeout. That did not stop the Gamecocks' momentum, as they would get the next four points to take a 22-21 lead. A tip from Fennell tied it up at 22-22, and her swing seconds later gave the Tigers the advantage. Stenlund knotted up the set again at 23-23, but Fennell put the Tigers to set point with another kill. A block from Patzin and Rand gave Clemson the set two win.

Kujundzic pushed the Gamecocks out to a 7-0 lead in the third, landing three or four aces in the stretch. The Tigers got it back to three at 12-9 before kills from Patzin and Proctor made it 14-12. A dump from Denson-Dorman pushed the South Carolina lead back to three, and a pair of Lawing kills, including one from the back-row, gave the Gamecocks an 18-13 advantage. The Gamecocks made it 22-18 after the first handling error call of the match, causing Clemson to call a timeout. The Tigers used that to swing momentum, taking the next to points to make it 22-20 and force the Gamecocks to use their final timeout. A Clemson block right out of the break made it a one-point set, and a swing from the setter Murphy tied it at 22. Lawing stopped the four-point run with her kill off the block, and a Tiger hitting error put the Gamecocks to set point. Lawing polished it off with her sixth kill of the set, giving South Carolina the third set, 25-22. Kujundzic added nine digs in the frame.

After the Tigers got out to a 3-0 lead, the Gamecocks kept it close, staying within three until a five-point run by South Carolina gave the squad a 16-14 lead. Kills from Moorhead, Lawing and Laughlin as well as an ace from freshman Taylor Bruns comprised the run that forced a Clemson timeout. The Tigers tied it up out of the pause at 16-16 behind a Rand kill and a Gamecock error. The teams both got back-to-back points before Kujundzic put down two in a row, including one on an overpass to put South Carolina on top, 20-18, and force Clemson use its final timeout. Kujundzic continued the barrage with a shot down the line to make it 21-18, but kills from Fennell and Proctor as well as a Gamecock error tied it again at 21-21, causing the Gamecocks to use a timeout. But the Tigers stuffed three consecutive Carolina attacks out of the break, and some miscommunication on the Gamecocks' side ended the set, 25-21. Ege made seven digs to help Clemson take the fourth.

Both teams took a while to settle in during the fifth, with the Gamecocks taking an 8-6 lead after a Lawing back-row tip caused the bench swap. An ace from Denson-Dorman and another back-row tip from Lawing forced a Clemson timeout at 10-6. After a service error, Moorhead and Lawing put down two kills. Another Tiger point came ahead of a Lawing kill, and a Tiger handling error put South Carolina at match point. A kill by Patzin extended the match, but by just one, as a service error ended the set at 15-9. The Gamecocks closed with a flurry, hitting .538 in the final set.

The Gamecocks made 97 digs to top Clemson by 23 in the category while South Carolina also held advantages in kills, assists, aces and hitting percentage.

In the first match of the day, College of Charleston came back from a two-set deficit to defeat Winthrop in five.

South Carolina takes on College of Charleston at 10 a.m. on Saturday before closing out the Big Orange Bash versus Winthrop at 4 p.m.

Alabama Volleyball Falls in Season Opener to No. 20 Saint Louis 3-0

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Alabama volleyball team opened its 2009 season with a 3-0 loss to No. 20 Saint Louis on Friday night at the Active Ankle Challenge. With the loss, the Crimson Tide dips to 16-6 all-time in road openers and drops to 2-3 in program history against the Billikens.

"I think we started out very tight tonight," said head coach Judy Green. "We also had some anxiety which was to be expected since this is the first time this lineup has been together. I was, however, excited to see us get better throughout the match."

The Alabama attack was led by senior Brooks Webster and sophomore Ashley Frazier, who tallied a combined 15 kills. Sophomore Stephanie Riley and junior Kayla Schmidt spilt the setting duties collected 11 assists and seven assists, respectively. Schmidt also was the Tide's leader in digs with 15. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Machen had a solid debut in the crimson and white at the net tallying four blocks.

Saint Louis opened the match with a 3-0 lead before junior Alyssa Meuth put the first point on the board for the Tide off a kill. Frazier delivered a kill moments later to cut the deficit to two, but the Billikens then rattled off an 8-0 run to pull in front 10-2. From this point on Saint Louis remained in front throughout the first and would close it out 25-13.

The second opened in similar fashion with the Billikens jumping out to a 4-0 start. Alabama steadily chipped away at the lead and tied the set 6-6 behind a stellar block from Machen and Frazier. On the next play, Saint Louis senior Sammy McCloud sent an attack attempt long giving the Tide its first edge of the set. The Billikens then collected four consecutive points to take the 10-7 lead. Alabama cut it to one shortly after, but Saint Louis continued to respond and would eventually win the set 25-17.

The Tide regrouped at the intermission and took the court with an added intensity in the third set. Despite an early Billiken lead, Alabama remained focused and, with the help of a 6-0 run, pulled in front for the first time in the frame. The score remained close with neither team holding more than a two-point edge before Saint Louis jumped on top and stayed there for a 25-20 set win.

"If we could have eliminated untimely errors in the third set I think would have had a better chance at winning that set and continuing the match," added Green. "We've got to learn to make adjustments faster. We are here in this tournament to get experience and see exactly what we have to get to to be better at the end of the year. Tomorrow when we take that court we will be a different team."

Alabama wraps up play at the Active Ankle Challenge tomorrow when it takes on No. 1 Penn State followed by Miami (Ohio). The Tide's match with the Nittany Lions is slated for 1:00 p.m. (CST). Opening serve with the RedHawks is set for 5:00 p.m. (CST). Live statistics can be found at RollTide.com.

Georgia Volleyball Falls To Georgia Tech, 3-2, In Season Opener

ATLANTA -- Georgia rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a decisive and closely contested fifth set in the season-opening match against Georgia Tech Friday evening, but the Yellow Jackets held on to win, 3-2, in front of a sold-out, capacity crowd of 2,000 at O'Keefe Gymnasium in the Georgia Tech Regency Suites Invitational.

Georgia Tech won the first two sets 25-15 and 25-19 before Georgia took the next two sets, 26-24 and 25-23, to force the decisive set. The final frame was then played as closely contested as imaginable featuring 11 ties and three lead changes before the Yellow Jackets came out on top 16-14.

"If I was participating as a fan in this match I would have easily got my money's worth tonight," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. "This was a fantastic environment and a fantastic performance by both teams no doubt. This match goes either way out of a 14-14 tie in overtime in the fifth set, but I can't lie, the loss here is disappointing. It's shocking for the momentum that we brought back into the match to finish it with the loss."

Sophomore Kathleen Gates, the Bulldogs' team captain on a team that features no seniors and just three upperclassmen, dished out a match-best 49 assists while junior Erika Clark provided a team-best 16 kills on a .289 hitting percentage. Redshirt freshman Briana Bahr was second on the team with 11 kills after starting in her Bulldog debut, and junior Simone May made her second-career start and added 10 kills.

On the defensive side of the net, assistant team captain sophomore Calra Tietz led the team with nine digs while freshmen Nicole Choi and Adria Fecteau contributed six and four digs, respectively, in their first match as Bulldogs.

"I'm incredibly proud of a team that is missing seniors and lost the first two sets dramatically to be able to work their way back into this match," McCartney said. "It looked like it was going to be written a whole different way there for a while, so give a lot of credit to a lot of young leaders in several positions for us. We got out played in the first two sets and then it was a totally different match. When I look at the statistics, they are very skewed. That's the thing about this sport – statistically you might when the match but the result might be the opposite. I thought we outplayed them in the third, fourth and fifth sets but came up short obviously in the end."

Georgia Tech was led Friday by freshman Monique Mead's double-double performance. Mead provided the Yellow Jackets with a match-best 20 kills to go along with 10 digs to lead first-year coach Tonya Johnson to victory in her collegiate head coaching debut.

"A great credit to Tonya and what she's done to get her team ready for the rivalry that she's never faced before," McCartney stated. "I have a lot of respect for her and what's she has done stepping into this program and taking a young group herself and getting her first win as a collegiate coach. I congratulate her and the Georgia Tech team, but I am really optimistic about our season from what I saw tonight. The kind of character that we showed in this match, to come back in it, I'm really proud of that effort."

The Regency Suites Invitational continues on Saturday. The Bulldogs will be in action in the first match of the day at 10:30 a.m. ET against another in-state opponent in Mercer before concluding play in the tournament against Austin Peay at 4:30 p.m. The Bears and Governors played on Friday night before the Georgia-Georgia Tech match, and Austin Peay won that contest 3-0 (25-23, 28-26, 25-19).

In the first set on Friday, Georgia Tech scored first and would carry the lead throughout except for two early ties. With Georgia within four points at 13-9, the Yellow Jackets went on a 4-0 run to extend their advantage to eight at 17-9. The Bulldogs would answer with a 5-1 run of their own to pull back within four, but the Yellow Jackets then closed the set on a 7-1 run to win it by 10 at 25-15. May paced Georgia with four kills in the set while Georgia Tech was led by Mead's six kills.

The Bulldogs rallied to start the second set with a 3-0 run, but the Yellow Jackets fought back to take the lead at 7-6. From there, Georgia Tech would not relinquish the advantage as it steadily built a six-point edge at 17-11 before going to win the frame by that margin at 25-19. Bahr posted a second-set best five kills to lead the Bulldogs' effort while Mead led the Yellow Jackets again with four more kills.

In the third set, Georgia Tech utilized a 10-3 run to open a seven-point lead at 16-9, but Georgia did not go away quietly. The Bulldogs provided an answer to the Yellow Jacket run with 10-3 run over their own to knot the set at 19-19. Tech went back ahead three more times without allowing UGA to gain the lead until out of the final tie at 24-24 the Bulldogs scored twice on a Yellow Jacket attack error and an ace from junior Valentina Gonzalez to take the set 26-24. Gonzalez would go on to finish the match with three aces in addition to nine kills.

Georgia opened the fourth set on a 4-0 run but Georgia Tech erased the advantage and went up by three at 12-9. The Bulldogs then put another 4-0 run together to take at 13-12 edge and set up a back-and-fourth battle to close the set. Seven of the nine tie scores in the set came after UGA retook the lead midway through the frame. The final tie came at 20-20 as UGA would go up again and hold on to win at 25-23. Clark led the Bulldogs with four kills in the set while senior Chrissy DeMichelis paced the Yellow Jackets with four as well.

The fifth set opened with five ties through the first 10 points before Georgia went up by three at 8-5. Georgia Tech came back to tie it again at 9-9 and the teams continued to exchange points all the way to a 14-14 tie, the 11th of set. The Yellow Jackets then recorded a kill and block to win the set 16-14.

LSU Volleyball Goes the Distance with No. 5 Stanford

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The LSU volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision against No. 5 Stanford [25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 21-25, 12-15] in its season opener at the Shamrock Invitational inside Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus.

Trailing 10-4 in the final set, LSU battled back scoring seven of the next nine points to pull within 12-11. A trio of kills by Michele Williams highlighted the run.

Stanford received an off-hand, left-handed spike from Cassidy Lichtman to cap a long rally. The Cardinal picked up a block and side out for the final margin of 15-12.

"We fought as hard as we possibly could have," head coach Fran Flory said. "I'm really proud that we were able to make a run when we were down in the fifth set against a very good Stanford team. Those things don't happen unless you're playing with great heart and desire. It's unfortunate we couldn't finish. There were a couple of touches that didn't go our way."

The Tigers (0-1) were playing without starting setter Sam Dabbs. Brittney Johnson set a balanced attack dishing out 45 assists to go along with 13 digs and six blocks.

LSU's middle blockers led the way as Brittnee Cooper slapped 16 kills and posted seven blocks. Williams cranked 14 kills on a team-best .387 hitting percentage. She also racked up six blocks of her own and three service aces.

Marina Skender and Lauren DeGirolamo returned to action from injuries that forced the pair of fifth-year seniors to miss a combined 44 matches in 2008. Skender tallied 11 kills and 19 digs, while DeGirolamo popped 6 kills in addition to reeling in a career-best 16 digs.

The Tigers return to action Saturday against Denver. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. CT with live stats available on LSUsports.net