Aug. 11, 2006
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team completed its fourth day of preseason practice Friday at the Strom Thurmond Wellness & Fitness Center. The Gamecocks will practice for a fifth consecutive day Saturday before taking a day off.
Following Friday’s practice, head coach Nancy Somera offered her thoughts on the first week:
On the team’s overall progress
“The progress we made in the spring carried over as much as we could have expected. For the most part, the upperclassmen picked up right where they left off. We look pretty good for day four. There are still a lot of areas to get better in, but we are so much further along then we were at this time last year. The difference is we have nine players in the gym who understand expectations, standards and the system, which makes integrating the freshmen much easier.”
On the progress of South Carolina’s freshmen
“As a group, they are pretty skilled volleyball players. They have decent fundamentals, so we do not have to teach them the basics and advanced things at the same time. Their skills are getting refined, but they are pretty good already, so we’ve been talking to them about executing within the system.”
On senior outside hitter Shonda Cole’s jump serve
“Shonda will rip away with the jump serve this year. She had bad knees last year, so we didn’t let her do it much. She over-trained last year playing with USA Volleyball but didn’t do as much this past summer, so she’s a lot fresher.”
On the team’s fitness level and injuries
“I’m pleased with our fitness level and what they reported at. There have been a couple tweaks here and there, but nothing serious. If we make it though tomorrow with no injuries then we’ve made it through the period when those things usually happen. They look strong and fit.”
On a possible starting lineup for the first match
“It’s still a little too early to say we have a starting lineup. Lots of positions will be challenged for and the teams will be evenly matched during our scrimmages. It’s good to get the best against the best because it makes players better. We will likely have a starting lineup by the end of next week.”
On the team’s defense
“I couldn’t be more pleased with how our defense looks in terms of effort after the ball. We’re getting a lot more balls dug, and we’ll keep refining the location of the digs. We’re going for more of them and weren’t last year. As a group, the team is a lot less satisfied with considering something a kill. It has to be a pretty spectacular hit for it to be a kill. They’re mad when they don’t dig balls, and that’s a good shift in defensive mentality.”
