Dec. 1, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team missed out on a possible try for an NCAA championship, as the Gamecocks were not selected to the 2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship field released on Sunday night.
“Obviously it is disappointing not to receive the NCAA championship tournament bid,” said Gamecock head coach Ben Somera, “but it doesn’t change the fact that we had a great season. We were 9-8 against teams with an RKPI in the top 100 and had eight wins over teams that were in the 2007 tournament. I’m really proud of the way our team has competed to give us a shot at being an at-large bid. There are a handful of teams today with similar bodies of work in the same position as us and are feeling the same disappointment as us.”
South Carolina defeated two NCAA host teams, including at-large bids Dayton in four games on a neutral court and Clemson in five games at home en route to a 9-1 non-conference record. The Gamecocks also had winning set totals against Southeastern Conference at-large bid recipients, sweeping LSU and Tennessee at home and losing in five sets to both programs on the road. South Carolina’s best chance to knock off a team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll fell just short in a five-set home loss against No. 14 Florida.
The Gamecocks finished the season with a 21-9 overall record, including a 12-8 Southeastern Conference mark. That stood fifth in the league overall and fourth in the SEC East. The conference got four bids to this year’s tournament, including national seed Florida. That is one less than the conference earned a year ago.
“I’m disappointed for the seniors who have done so much to develop a winning culture in our program,” added Somera. “You’d love to send them out with a NCAA tournament bid, but it doesn’t change the fact that they have built the foundation for future teams that will receive an NCAA tournament bid.”
The Garnet and Black end the 2008 season with its best record since the 2002 NCAA Tournament team that went 22-7.
