June 28, 2007
COLUMBIA, S.C. — University of South Carolina Volleyball Head Coach Nancy Somera announced Thursday she is stepping down as head coach of the program. Her husband and current associate head coach Ben Somera will take over the head coaching duties.
“I confidently hand the reigns to Ben and step aside as head coach of the South Carolina volleyball program,” Nancy said. “I am exploring a business opportunity that I’ve been involved with, on and off for the last eight years, and I look forward to the opportunities this change will provide for me and our family. Of course, I will continue to be invested in the success of the program but will do so in a different role now.
“I’m grateful to the administration for their support in the transition. (Athletics Director) Eric (Hyman) and his staff are leading the department in a wonderful direction, and I will miss working with all the talented people here at the University of South Carolina.”
Nancy came to South Carolina in February 2005 after serving as head coach at Oregon State for six seasons. The Gamecocks posted a 13-14 record in her first season and finished at 15-17 last year, including an 8-12 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
Her coaching career began at Southern California in 1991, where she was as an assistant coach for eight seasons. Nancy played for the Women of Troy as well from 1985 to 1988 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism/broadcasting and later a master’s in education from the school.
“Nancy and Ben have been a great coaching team and brought a wealth of experience with them to the Gamecock program,” South Carolina Senior Woman Administrator Val Sheley said. “I will miss working with Nancy, but we are very confident Ben will continue to develop the program in a positive direction and be very successful.”
Ben, also a graduate of Southern California with a bachelor’s in political science, launched his collegiate coaching career in 1993 as a volunteer coach for his alma mater. He was then promoted to the second assistant position in 1994 and took the lead in the training and development of the program’s middle blockers. While at Southern California, he cultivated three All-America middle blockers.
In 1996, Ben left collegiate coaching to pursue a career in sales, but he continued to coach club volleyball. When Nancy became the head coach at Oregon State in 1999, he returned to collegiate coaching. While at OSU, Ben coached the middle blockers for four seasons and spent two seasons with the setters. Under his tutelage, one of his setters earned honorable mention All-Pacific 10 honors, and two of his middle blockers finished the season ranked among the top 10 blockers in the league.
“I appreciate the support and confidence given to me by Eric and Val, and look forward to supporting the growth and improvements outlined in our athletic department’s master plan,” Ben said. “I’m excited to continue the work we’ve done with the volleyball program in our first two years here, and I feel like we have a great nucleus of players and staff that can continue to pursue our program goals.”
Nancy will remain on staff until July 31. Current assistant Damian Elder, who joined the program in March 2006 after serving as a volunteer assistant at Stanford for two years, will remain on staff as the top assistant. A search for the second assistant coaching position will commence in July.
