Dec. 3, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina has signed Normal, Ill., product Taylor Bruns and Charleston, S.C., native Christina Glover to National Letters of Intent, Gamecock head volleyball coach Ben Somera announced today.

Bruns, a 5-11 setter and right-side hitter, started for three years at University High School in Normal, Ill. A special-mention all-state player by the Chicago Tribune, Bruns has been on the Bloomington Pantagraph all-area squad the past three seasons, including first-team honors as a junior and senior. A two-time team MVP, Bruns’ team has won three consecutive Corn Belt Conference crowns and compiled 30-6 and 29-7 records in the past two seasons. Bruns compiled 542 career kills and hit .307 during the four years with University. She also dished out 363 assists as a senior on her way to special-mention all-state honors from the Champaign News-Gazette. Bruns played with the Illini Elite club that won the AAU 17U Open Division national title in 2008. Mentioned as one of 15 just outside of Prepvolleyball.com’s top 100 “Senior Aces,” Bruns has also starred in the classroom, with a 3.9 GPA during her high school career.

“Our staff really liked the way Taylor competed and connected with her teammates when we watched her compete,” said Somera. “There are hundreds of setters across the country that can set a ball to a hitter, but we believe that Taylor has a good foundation for running an offense and the personality to be an emotional leader on the court. I anticipate her being very competitive for that spot and bringing a good work ethic and attitude to our program each day.

“Taylor has played in a lot of big matches in her club career, and that experience of competing at a high level will serve her well in our gym. I would like to see her bring the energy and enthusiasm she competes with to our gym on a daily basis.”

Glover played volleyball at Wando High School for her mother and South Carolina alum Alexis Homer Glover. The 2008 South Carolina 4A Player of the Year, she helped the Warriors to two straight South 4A crowns in 2007 and 2008. Glover also garnered Lowcountry Player of the Year accolades from the Charleston Post & Courier and all-state honors from the S.C. Coaches Association of Women’s Sports in 2007. The 5-11 outside hitter hit .391 with 5.2 kills-per-set in 2008. Glover played in the North/South All-Star Game earlier this month.

“Christina has spent a lot of time around our program and in our gyms through camps,” Somera commented, “and we know we are getting an extremely gifted athlete and hard worker. For a player under six feet, Christina is a very physical volleyball player. She is able to get to the top of her jump quickly from a static position, which makes her a very good blocker. Combine that with a powerful arm swing and we have the makings of a great outside hitter.

“Christina is the daughter of a high school volleyball coach who has won more than 1,000 matches. I think it is safe to say that Christina was raised in a volleyball gym and is going to come to the University of South Carolina with an understanding of how to train hard and compete.

“Both athletes will compete for starting positions but roles will be determined by how they practice in our gym on a daily basis. In terms of volleyball, underclassmen are asked to acclimate to the intensity of college training, learn new offensive and defensive systems and execute skills and techniques at a higher level. The quicker they are able to get comfortable in our gym, understand our system and execute our system, the quicker their roles will develop and grow.”

The Gamecocks closed out 2008 with their 17th 20-win season in program history.