DURHAM, N.C. – South Carolina volleyball begins its 51st season with a three-game weekend tournament at Duke, running Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. The Gamecocks play one game each day, facing No. 13 Kansas on Friday, Colgate on Saturday and the host Blue Devils on Sunday. The Gamecocks, entering year seven under head coach Tom Mendoza, are coming off an 11-16 record in 2023 and return 12 players from last fall’s roster.
Fans can follow the action all weekend on the ACC Network’s web-only streaming service, ACCNX, and through @Gamecockvolley on Twitter and @GamecockVB on Instagram.
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas enters Friday’s season opener coming off a 24-win season in 2023, earning it the No. 13 rank entering the fall and the Big 12 conference coaches picked the team as preseason favorites to lead the league. The Jayhawks finished last season with a 3-2 loss against Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The offense is powered by senior leadership, led by 2023 Big 12 Setter of the Year Camryn Turner. She led the conference in assists in 2023, averaging 10.68 per set, while the Jayhawk offense hit .274 for the season (20th-best in the nation). Senior pins Ayah Elnady and London Davis are the two leading attackers returning. Elnady finished second on the team in both kills (3.44) and points (4.17) per set and Davis added over 300 kills and 76 total blocks on the right pin. As a team, Kansas led the Big 12 in assists (12.93 per set), digs (15.44/s) and kills (13.89/s) in 2023.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate finished the 2023 season with a 22-8 record and won the Patriot League for the third season in a row. The Raiders fell short in the first round of the NCAA tournament, losing to No. 17 Creighton. Six starters return for the team, led by preseason Patriot League player of the year honoree Abby Shadwick. The rising senior hit .251 with 2.46 kills per set in 2023. Fifth-year Gillian Hauschild also returns, leading the team in total kills and points last fall. Defensively, the team will need to fill the void left by middle Sophie Thompson, who accounted for 165 of the team’s 284 total blocks.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Weekend host Duke finished on the wrong side of the postseason bubble with a 19-10 record last season. The Blue Devils will lean on 2023 all-ACC pin Kerry Keefe, who averaged 3.36 kills per set on a blistering season hitting percentage of .308 last fall. The emergence of Rachel Richardson will be key for the offense, the rising…