May 31, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
South Carolina volleyball will start off the 2005 season on the road as they will play in the Florida State Tournament Sept. 2-3. Head coach Nancy Somera released the 2005 schedule and USC’s first match will be in Tallahassee, Fla. against Pittsburgh, followed by FSU and Mercer. The Gameocks will compete in three non-conference tournaments and begin SEC play Sept. 23 in Baton Rouge, La.

“This is a tough schedule. We have a lot of road games this year,” said Somera. “The positive outlook on this is we will have to learn how to play and win on the road and this schedule can teach us how to do that. Our goal is to get back to the NCAA Tournament and if we can take care of things on the road, that will help us in postseason play.”

After the FSU Tournament, the Gamecocks return home for their lone home match in September. On Tuesday, Sept. 6, USC hosts Charlotte at 7 p.m. The Gamecocks then travel to Chapel Hill for the University of North Carolina Tournament, Sept. 9-10. In Chapel Hill, USC will face Coastal Carolina, Purdue and the Tar Heels. The Gamecocks then prepare for their in-state rival the Clemson Tigers on Sept. 13 at Clemson. USC wraps up tournament play when they participate in the College of Charleston Tournament, Sept. 15-16. In addition to C of C, USC will play Houston.

SEC play begins Friday, Sept. 23 at LSU then on to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Lady Razorbacks, Sun., Sept. 25. The first home conference matches for USC will be Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 when Mississippi State and Ole Miss visit respectively.

With the remaining conference matches, USC will see Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee both at home and on the road. A home match against Alabama will wrap up the season before heading to the SEC Tournament, in Tuscaloosa, Nov. 18-20.

The Gamecocks will close out the entire regular season with a final home match Thanksgiving weekend against Winthrop.

Among the current opponents, two teams were ranked in the final USA Today/CSTV top 25 Poll, No. 10 Tennessee and No. 15 Florida.