Oct. 2, 2006

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole from the South Carolina volleyball team was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. It marked the second time in the past three weeks Cole earned the award.

Cole helped the Gamecocks to a 3-0 victory over Georgia on Wednesday, South Carolina’s first against the Bulldogs since 2002. She tallied 18 kills and hit .400 (18-6-30) in the match while adding eight digs and two blocks.

In a 3-2 loss to Alabama on Sunday, Cole notched her sixth 30-kill match of the year with 31. Cole’s six 30-kill matches leads the nation, and she entered last week ranked second nationally in kills per game with an average of 6.02. She added 15 digs for her fifth double-double in 2006, and Cole’s six service aces was a career high.

Cole and the Gamecocks travel to Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday to face the 17th-ranked Lady Volunteers at 7 p.m. South Carolina then takes on Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.