June 7, 2013
2013 Schedule in HTML Format
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 2013 schedule for South Carolina’s volleyball team earned approval from campus today, setting up the Gamecocks with 10 matches against teams that made last year’s NCAA Tournament.
“We are very excited for the upcoming 2013 schedule and the challenges it will bring our young squad,” said Gamecock head coach Scott Swanson. “Our preseason matches will test our team and prepare us for an always tough SEC schedule.”
The Gamecocks, who are in their third year under the guidance of Swanson, host 16 matches in 2013, one shy of last year’s record since moving into the Volleyball Competition Facility in 1996. Six of those are in non-conference events, the Gamecock Invitational (Aug. 30-31) to open the year with South Carolina State, Florida International and High Point coming to town, and the Carolina Classic (Sept. 20-21), which brings Western Carolina, Robert Morris and Presbyterian as its field. A lone non-conference home match during league play is set for Wed., Oct. 30 against Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m.
In between those two home events, South Carolina plays in the Big Orange Bash (Sept. 6-7) against in-state foes Clemson, Furman and Winthrop and in the Blue Devil Classic (Sept. 13-14) against Utah State, Liberty and the host Duke. The two ACC foes finished tied for fourth and ninth in last year’s standings, while Liberty will present the Gamecocks with their first match against a 2012 NCAA Tournament participant.
The Southeastern Conference slate, cut from 20 to 18 matches, includes home-and-homes against four teams that made the NCAA Tournament (Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas A&M) as well as against SEC Eastern Division foes Missouri and Georgia. South Carolina also takes on perennial power Florida on the road on Nov. 13, the lone single-game SEC foe to make the NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina finished 2012 with its second winning record in a decade. Leading attacker Juliette Thévenin leads the returners for Swanson’s third season.
