Postseason Not Only a Goal, but an Expectation for Volleyball
For head coach Tom Mendoza and the South Carolina volleyball team, getting to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years is a big deal, but the program is at the point where the postseason is an expectation.
“Having that expectation is a good problem to have,” said Mendoza, who is in his fourth year leading the Gamecocks. “It tells you that your program is heading in the right direction.
“The expectation is to take this program to a different standard. It was great doing it the first time and setting that bar back in 2018. To get back into it this year with a completely different group, with only a few holdovers from that first year, is huge for building the program and building the expectations. It shows high school players from around the state and elsewhere that they can play elite volleyball at the University of South Carolina. It’s something we can show our fans, too.”
Prior to Mendoza’s arrival in 2018, the Gamecocks had not reached the NCAA Tournament in 16 years. Now becoming a regular to the postseason, Mendoza wants to keep building.
“The expectation comes with achieving it a couple of times,” Mendoza said. “You live with that expectation because the alternative is falling short. I want our team to be comfortable being ranked in the top 25. I want them to get comfortable hosting the first two rounds of the tournament. So, there are plenty of steps ahead of us that we think are very achievable. There are lots of programs that are not able to sustain making the NCAA Tournament, so we don’t take that for granted.”
“They’ve put in a lot of work in what’s been a long season, and for many, a long year and a half. To get to play in the postseason is huge.”
The Gamecocks have consistently shown that simply getting there is not the end-goal as South Carolina won its first-round matchups in 2018 and 2019. The Garnet and Black will have their hands full when they travel to Atlanta for Friday’s first round matchup with 17th-ranked Western Kentucky, but with three top 25 wins during the regular season, the Gamecocks won’t be intimidated by a tough draw, and have had success against ranked teams in the postseason, evidenced by a 2019 win over #10 Colorado State in the first round.
“One hundred percent of our focus right now is on Western Kentucky,” Mendoza said. “The challenge is to not overlook what got you there. It’s nice that we’re playing so close and not having to deal with airports with COVID, the flu and everything else and different time zones. To be able to have some fans and families make that trip, we’re very thankful.”
South Carolina did not make the abbreviated 48-team NCAA Tournament field last year, but probably would have made the 64-team field had it not been decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the volleyball season was split between the fall and spring semesters due to the pandemic. For those student-athletes who have been with the program for four years or more, getting back to the postseason in 2021 was important.
“I’m thrilled for our players,” Mendoza said. “They’ve put in a lot of work in what’s been a long season, and for many, a long year and a half. To get to play in the postseason is huge.
“The group that came in with (senior) Lauren Bowers and (redshirt junior) Courtney Weber, they were freshmen when I first got here. (Fifth-year senior) Mikayla Robinson ended up getting a fifth year because of COVID. It’s one thing to say this is the expectation, but they’ve balanced it with putting the work in. Once you show the path of how to get to the NCAA Tournament, it becomes more attainable. Our first year, it seemed like it was an insurmountable goal, and we had to have a perfect season to make the NCAA Tournament. That’s not always true. There are always ups and downs. This year is the epitome of that.”
While each team is different, the hard work it takes to get to the postseason remains the same.
“I think our team understands the expectations and the difficulty of it,” Mendoza said. “There are a lot of SEC teams that are good enough to play this weekend but weren’t able to build their resume. I’m really proud of our group. Every year is a little bit different. There were challenges this year that the first two teams didn’t face. The one common thing is that the team finds a way to overcome whatever obstacles came that year.”
Game time for South Carolina’s first round matchup with Western Kentucky is slated for Friday at 4:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+.
