March 13, 2006
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team began its spring practices Monday. The Gamecocks will train over the next six weeks and compete in three tournaments in April in preparation for next season.
USC returns nine players from its 12-person roster last season. The senior class consists of Shonda Cole (6-1, OH), Alexcis Thomson (5-10, DS/S), Iris Santos (5-10, S/OH) and Lynae Vanden Hull (6-2, OH). Crystal Johnson (6-0, MB) is the lone junior, and the sophomore class is made up of Marija Milosevic (6-0, OH), Dinelia Concepcion (5-3, L/DS), Petra Lorenzi (5-9, S) and Belita Salters (6-1, MB).
“The first day went well,” head coach Nancy Somera said. “We’re taking care of touches on the ball much better. I think by the end of the six weeks we’ll have improved a lot as a team and moved in the right direction. We had good winter preparation before spring practice. We look strong and healthy, and hopefully we’ll stay that way.”
South Carolina’s first weekend of spring competition takes place Saturday, April 1, in Charlotte, N.C., in a tournament hosted by the Charlotte 49ers. The Gamecocks will host a tourney Saturday, April 15, and cap off the spring the following Saturday in Aurora, Ill., at the 2006 Spring College Tournament hosted by The Great Lakes Center.
The Garnet and Black finished with a 13-14 record last season and was 5-11 in the Southeastern Conference. Cole garnered honorable mention All-South Region accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association while leading the Gamecocks in hitting percentage (.281), kills (414) and kills per game (4.18). She was also named second-team All-SEC for the second consecutive year.
Santos saw action in 98 of 100 games, averaging 2.23 kills while leading the team in assists with 7.62. Concepcion was one the Gamecocks’ top defensive players with an average of 2.43 digs in her 98 games played. Vanden Hull was fourth on the squad in hitting percentage (.242), and Milosevic was second in kills per game (2.77). Salters returns as USC’s leader in blocks per game a year ago at 1.38, while Lorenzi was second on the team in assists per game (5.03).
