COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball begins its fall campaign on Friday, year five under head coach Tom Mendoza, when it hosts the Carolina Classic two-day tournament. The Gamecocks face Sacred Heart and Omaha on Friday at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, then wrap up the opening weekend against Winthrop at 4:30 on Saturday. All three South Carolina games will be broadcast on the SEC Network+ online service, Paul MacDonald and Dave Weinstein will be on the call.
For fans, a ticket purchased for the 10 a.m. match on Friday will also be good for admission to the 7:30 match later that day.
2021 TEAM NOTABLES
- The Gamecocks faced one of the nation’s toughest schedules, battling nine teams in the 2021 NCAA tournament – including five games total against schools earning a top-16 seed – and 10 total matches against AVCA top-25-ranked teams.
- The 10 games against ranked teams are the most in program history. The previous high was eight, done in 1995, 2003 and 2010.
- Kyla Manning ended the season with a team-high 357 kills. That is the 10th-most in a single season in the rally-scoring era and are the most for a Gamecock outside hitter since Juliette Thévenin’s 466 kills in 2013.
- Manning also led the team with eight double-doubles and finished third on the team in digs.
- Two Gamecocks played in every single set for the team – both freshmen. Lauren McCutcheon started all 29 matches along with playing all 103 sets, setter Claire Wilson largely would rotate in at setter but did make six starts during the season and did not miss a single set.
- All five of South Carolina’s freshmen saw time on the court this season, and four will likely play a major role in the team’s 2022 campaign: Oby Anadi, Morgan Carter, McCutcheon and Wilson.
- Carter’s team-high 299 digs was the second highest total for a Gamecock freshman in the rally-scoring era, behind only Aubrey Ezell’s 309 in 2015. Her average of 3.22 digs per set is the best by was the second best in the program’s all-time history.
- With 26 starts at libero, Carter was the first true freshman to start as the team’s main libero since the position was first introduced in college volleyball in 2002.
- Also on defense, Ellie Ruprich collected 112 total blocks to lead the team for the second year in a row. She is just the third Gamecock in the 2000s to lead the team in blocks as a freshman and a sophomore, joining Darian Dozier (2012/13) and Mikayla Robinson (2017/18).
SCOUTING THE…