Feb. 2, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina beach volleyball enters its third year ranked No. 17 in the DiG Magazine’s 2016 Beach Volleyball Preseason Poll, released on Monday.

The Gamecocks are one of six CCSA schools to be ranked in the preseason poll. Also ranked are Florida International (No. 5), Florida State (No. 6), Georgia State (No. 8), Tulane (No. 18) and LSU (No. 19).

South Carolina returns 11 players from 2015 when the Gamecocks finished 14-7, including seniors Sarah Blomgren, Litsa Darby and Zuzanna Reszka.

The Gamecocks begin the 2016 season on Friday, Mar. 4 in Tempe, Ariz., against Colorado Mesa in the Sun Devil Challenge.

DiG Magazine Preseason Poll Top 20 Rank- Team
1. USC
2. Pepperdine
3. Hawaii
4. Long Beach State
5. Florida International
6. Florida State
7. UCLA
8. Georgia State
9. Arizona
10. Stetson
11. Washington
12. Nebraska
13. Stanford
14. Loyola Marymount
15. Grand Canyon
16. Pacific
17. South Carolina
18. Tulane
19. LSU
20. Santa Clara