Aug. 23, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Southeastern Conference recently announced the 2005 Volleyball Preseason Coaches poll and the South Carolina Gamecocks were picked to finish fourth in the SEC East. USC was voted fourth behind SEC Co-Champions Florida and Tennessee and Georgia, respectively.

Head Coach Nancy Somera is not surprised by the votes and accepts the challenge the Gamecocks have before them to finish the season higher than predicted.

“Based on the last few years, I understand why we would be picked in that spot,” said Somera. “We just hope that we improve at a faster pace than our opponents and the final standings at the end of the season reflect our improvement.”

For the 2005 season, the Gators were selected to claim the title outright and have been SEC Champions for 14 consecutive years. Last year, Florida shared the title with Tennessee, while the Lady Vols also claimed the tournament title, snapping Florida’s tournament title streak at six.

The Kentucky Wildcats round out the SEC East and in the West, LSU was picked to finish first, followed by Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi State, Auburn and Ole Miss. Florida received seven votes for first place while Tennessee received four.

The Gamecocks begin their season on Sept. 2 at the Florida State Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. USC will take on Pittsburgh at 10 a.m. and Florida State at 7:30 p.m. On Sept. 3, the Gamecocks will close out the tournament with a 3:30 p.m. match against Mercer.