Two Beach Volleyball Newcomers Honored as High School All-Americans
Sophie Bengoechea and Alyssa Keller now give the Gamecocks seven former All-Americans on the current roster
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina beach volleyball freshmen Sophie Bengoechea and Alyssa Keller were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s High School Beach All-America second team, the organization announced Wednesday. The Gamecocks now have seven past honorees on the roster and have eight total in the seven years the award has existed.
Bengoechea was already a member of Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 30 team after finishing her high school and club career. For the 2020 season at the juniors level, she recorded four finishes in the top 10 on the Association of Volleyball Professionals’ (AVP) America tournament circuit. In 2018, she won the AAU national championship while competing for her club, 210 Beach out in Texas.
Keller also made Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 30 team over the summer. On the national level, she capped her summer with a major championship win at the AVP America Junior Nationals and earned the AVP Athlete of the Week award after winning a pair of 18U Sunshine Series tournament in February down in her home state of Florida.
The duo highlights a strong class of recruits for the Gamecocks. The team’s six-woman class was ranked tenth in the country by Volleyball Magazine back in July. Despite a season cut short due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus in March, South Carolina finished the 2020 season with three wins over teams ranked in the top 15 nationally and finished No. 14 in the final AVCA’s national coaches poll.
