May 22, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A pair of regional volleyball standouts has enrolled at the University of South Carolina and will join head coach Ben Somera’s squad for the 2009 fall season. Brandi Byers of Snellville, Ga., and Tory Shepherd of Moncks Corner, S.C., have been accepted into school and join a team that went 21-9 in 2008.

Byers, a 6-3 middle, was a second-team All-Gwinnett County selection according to the Gwinnett Daily Post in 2008 and a first-team all-county selection by the coaches that same season. She earned scholar-athlete accolades four times and also lettered in track, ranking second on Brookwood High School’s all-time high-jump charts and finishing second in the 2008 Region 8-AAAAA meet last year. Byers played with the A5 club based out of Atlanta, Ga. She also is an outstanding student, ranking in the top 10 percent of her class.

Berkeley High School product Tory Shepherd lettered in three sports for the Stags, adding softball and basketball to her volleyball playing. The 5-11 outside hitter made the 2008 South Carolina Association of Women’s Sports 4A All-State team this season, along with Gamecock signee Christina Glover of Wando. A second-team All-Lowcountry selection by the Charleston Post & Courier, Shepherd has also done well on the diamond, making the Region 7-AAAA all-star softball team in 2006. Also a member of the Optimists’ Club of Charleston’s all-star volleyball team, Shepherd has been a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club at Berkeley. She was a part of the Charleston Juniors club.

The Gamecocks kick off the 2009 season with a matchup at rival Clemson in the Big Orange Bash on Aug. 28.