June 12, 2003

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
With five teams on their 2003 schedule that were placed in the final 2002 top 25 poll, the 2003 South Carolina volleyball schedule looks to be one of the toughest in years. Six teams were ranked at one point during the 2002 season while 17 were ranked in the regional rankings. South Carolina opens up the 2003 campaign with a tournament at Southern Cal, the 2002 national champion.

Southern California (1st), Florida (4th), Northern Iowa (9th), North Carolina (12th), and Santa Clara (19th) were all ranked at the end of 2002 and Southern Cal, Northern Iowa and Santa Clara will face the Gamecocks within the first month of play.

South Carolina, who was ranked as high as 18th in 2002, will compete in four in-season tournaments this fall. Following the tournament at Southern California, the Gamecocks come home to the friendly confines of the Volleyball Competition Facility to host the 21st annual Carolina Classic on Sept. 5-7. They will also host the Gamecock Invitational on Sept. 18-20. USC will also compete in a tournament at Notre Dame on Sept. 12-14. The annual match-up between arch-rival Clemson will take place on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. at Clemson.

The Garnet and Black’s SEC schedule opens up on Sept. 26 with a 7:00 p.m. match at LSU. Carolina’s first SEC home match takes place Oct. 3 against Ole Miss at 7 p.m.

In addition to hosting the Carolina Classic and the Gamecock Invitational, South Carolina and the Volleyball Competition Facility will also be home to the 2003 SEC Volleyball Tournament on Nov. 21-24.

South Carolina 2003 Volleyball Schedule

August
29	vs. Ball State&	Los Angeles, Calif.	5pm
30	at Southern Cal&	Los Angeles, Calif.	Noon
	vs. Ball State&	Los Angeles, Calif.	5pm

September
5 Michigan State@ Columbia, S.C. 7pm
7 North Carolina@ Columbia, S.C. 1:30pm
9 at Clemson Clemson, S.C. 7pm
12 vs. Utah^ South Bend, Ind. 4:30pm
13 vs. Indiana^ South Bend, Ind. 4:30pm
14 at Notre Dame^ South Bend, Ind. 2pm
18 Santa Clara% Columbia, S.C. 7pm
19 Duke% Columbia, S.C. 7pm
20 George Washington% Columbia, S.C. 10am
26 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 7pm
28 at Arkansas* Fayetteville, Ark. 1:30pm

October
3 Ole Miss* Columbia, S.C. 7pm
5 Mississippi State* Columbia, S.C. 1:30pm
8 Kentucky* Columbia, S.C. 7pm
10 at Tennessee* Knoxville, Tenn. 7pm
17 Arkansas* Columbia, S.C. 7pm
19 LSU* Columbia, S.C. 1:30pm
24 at Georgia* Athens, Ga. 7pm
26 at Florida* Gainesville, Fla. 1:30pm
31 at Auburn* Auburn, Ala. 7pm

November
2 at Alabama* Tuscaloosa, Ala. 1:30pm
5 at Kentucky* Lexington, Ky. 7pm
9 Tennessee* Columbia, S.C. 1:30pm
14 Florida* Columbia, S.C. 7pm
16 Georgia* Columbia, S.C. 1:30pm
21-23 SEC Tournament Columbia, S.C. TBA
29 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. Noon

December
4-6 NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds TBA TBA
14-16 NCAA Round of 16 TBA TBA
18-20 NCAA Final Four Dallas, Texas TBA

& – Southern Cal Tournament
@ – Carolina Classic
^ – Notre Dame Tournament
% – Gamecock Invitational
* – Southeastern Conference Game
Home matches in italics
All times are local and are subject to change