After a decade and a half of struggles to regain its past prominence, South Carolina volleyball burst back on to the national scene in 2018 under the direction of then first-year head coach Tom Mendoza. The Gamecocks nearly doubled their win total from the previous year, posting a 20-10 overall record, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. It started an upward trajectory for the program, which would reach the postseason in three of the next four years.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Mikayla Shields (2016-2019), who was a three time All-SEC and All-Region selection as well a two-time Honorable Mention All-American and a third team All-American as a senior. “There was a coaching change. There was a lot of uncertainty going into that season because we were still trying to get to know the coaches. What we did know was that we were hungry. There was a culture shift. We knew that if we were going to go further than we had before, it was going to take a different mentality. Going into that season, it made a difference in the way that we trained, and we saw Coach Mendoza coming in as an opportunity to make those changes.”
“The team was successful under Coach Mendoza because we were all bought in to each practice plan, each scouting report, and each game plan,” said Aubrey (Ezell) Nichols, who finished her career as the only player in the program’s all-time history to reach 2,000 assists, 1,000 digs and 175 aces. “Coach Mendoza built the best team chemistry, and we all trusted his coaching. My favorite memories at USC would be meeting my amazing teammates, as well as, meeting my husband! Another is that I still get to brag on how I was a part of such a wonderful volleyball program.”
“We had a lot of players back, and that helped, and with the coaching change we had a drive to want to be better,” said Courtney Koehler (2016-2019), who finished as the program’s career assists record-holder in the rally-scoring era. “We added a couple of key players as well. In the locker room we had that common goal. We started talking about the NCAA tournament in the preseason. It’s something we always wanted. We definitely had our eyes on the prize from the get-go.”
“I transferred in that year from the University of Minnesota,” said Brittany (McLean) Farrell (2018-2019), who is currently an assistant coach for the Gamecocks. “I was a junior, and when I got to South Carolina, I could feel that the group was…