Celebrating 50 Years of Women's Varsity Sports - 2018 Volleyball

After a decade and a half of struggles to regain its past prominence, South Carolina volleyball burst back on to the national scene in 2018 under the direction of then first-year head coach Tom Mendoza. The Gamecocks nearly doubled their win total from the previous year, posting a 20-10 overall record, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. It started an upward trajectory for the program, which would reach the postseason in three of the next four years.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Mikayla Shields (2016-2019), who was a three time All-SEC and All-Region selection as well a two-time Honorable Mention All-American and a third team All-American as a senior. “There was a coaching change. There was a lot of uncertainty going into that season because we were still trying to get to know the coaches. What we did know was that we were hungry. There was a culture shift. We knew that if we were going to go further than we had before, it was going to take a different mentality. Going into that season, it made a difference in the way that we trained, and we saw Coach Mendoza coming in as an opportunity to make those changes.”

“The team was successful under Coach Mendoza because we were all bought in to each practice plan, each scouting report, and each game plan,” said Aubrey (Ezell) Nichols, who finished her career as the only player in the program’s all-time history to reach 2,000 assists, 1,000 digs and 175 aces. “Coach Mendoza built the best team chemistry, and we all trusted his coaching. My favorite memories at USC would be meeting my amazing teammates, as well as, meeting my husband! Another is that I still get to brag on how I was a part of such a wonderful volleyball program.”

“We had a lot of players back, and that helped, and with the coaching change we had a drive to want to be better,” said Courtney Koehler (2016-2019), who finished as the program’s career assists record-holder in the rally-scoring era. “We added a couple of key players as well. In the locker room we had that common goal. We started talking about the NCAA tournament in the preseason. It’s something we always wanted. We definitely had our eyes on the prize from the get-go.”

“I transferred in that year from the University of Minnesota,” said Brittany (McLean) Farrell (2018-2019), who is currently an assistant coach for the Gamecocks. “I was a junior, and when I got to South Carolina, I could feel that the group was different, and the coaching staff was awesome. We had a lot of conversations about re-writing the narrative of the program because in our gym you could see the banners, and we hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2002. We had a lot of older girls on the team, and we all said we didn’t want that to be the case anymore. It turned into a lot of conversations about what our culture was going to be like, and how we were going to play. We wanted to change our playing style a little bit. There was a sense of calmness among the group because we knew something special was happening. It came from our coaching staff and was instilled by our senior leaders that year. Then we went out and did it.”

From the beginning, it was clear that the season was going to be different as the Gamecocks won 13 of their first 14 matches, which included victories over Clemson as well as four straight SEC wins to open conference play after only winning five league games the previous year.

“I think what set us up was our fall tournament early in the season,” Koehler said as South Carolina opened the year with three straight wins at the Gamecock Invitational. “Fall tournaments were usually there to help get you ready for SEC play, but the new coaching staff really put an emphasis on those first three tournaments we played (in which the Gamecocks went 9-1). That helped set the tone for the rest of the season. I think that mental shift and treating them as just as important as conference play was big for us.

“In SEC play, we played Texas A&M away at College Station. From my previous years, I remember how hard it was to play there. Being able to win that game was one of the best feelings.”

“We beat Georgia in five. We swept Alabama. We beat Missouri, which was a top 25 team,” Farrell said. “As the wins kept racking up, we kept saying, we can do this. It became more of a reality as opposed to something we dreamed about. All of the coaches instilled into us the confidence that we could do it.

“One was the match where we took down Missouri,” said Mikayla Shields. “Another one was when we played Florida at home. We did lose that match in five, but when I came back to the locker room, and I looked at my teammates, I told them that we were in it. We were competing in a way we had never done before. We had one of the best teams in the country shaking in their boots, so to speak. I was proud of my team in that moment because we were ready to fight. We had changed the culture so that when teams saw us coming, they knew they had a fight on their hands.

After hearing their name called for the NCAA Tournament, South Carolina went to Minneapolis and weren’t just happy to be there as the Gamecocks upended Colorado in the first round before falling to Minnesota in round two. Being a part of the change in the program created lasting memories for all involved.

“My favorite match would have to be our first-round win at the NCAA tournament against the University of Colorado,” Ezell said. “We definitely came out as the underdog and ended up winning in five sets. I still get hype thinking about that game to this day!”

“I will never forget beating Georgia,” Farrell said. “I will never forget going back to the NCAA tournament twice and hearing our name called. It was a feeling of home. That’s the reason I came back and started coaching here. That’s what I remember most. Just being home and doing what I love.”

“It was so special to be a part of it,” said Koehler. “Having that mental mind shift and all those changes that came along that year helped contribute to the team having success in the years that followed. The program hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in 16 years, so because it happened so long ago, it made it seem harder to achieve. Once we did it, we realized we had been here before, and we can do it again. That helped reboot things for the players that had been there. I remember when they hung our banner my senior year from that 2018 season. There was a lot of pride in seeing that. When I go back to watch games now, I see the banners, and I think how I was a part of those two seasons. It’s definitely something for us to be proud of. I miss all those girls, and I still stay in touch with them today.”

“Beating Colorado in five at Minnesota in the first round of the tournament, it was electric,” Shields said. “It was one of the best matches we played as a team. That match came with some uncertainty. This was a team we hadn’t seen. It was a special time. We had a blast. I was so proud of all of us. It was truly a team effort to make those strides as a program. We wanted to sew that into the program so that the teams after us would feel the same way. It was a fresh start having a new coaching staff. The uncertainty was a gift. We knew it was going to be unlike any other season we had had before. I remember being with my teammates in the preseason and saying, guys we can do something with this. Throughout the season, there was a constant effort to be better and prove what we were capable of. It was important for us to set the tone for the next few years. It was important to be able to show whether we were going to be the same team that struggled in those recent years or were we going to be able to make the change that we wanted to see.”