Robinson and Whitesides Collect Postseason Honors from SEC

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – The Southeastern Conference announced its 2020-21 volleyball postseason awards Sunday afternoon. Senior Mikayla Robinson made the 18-woman All-SEC team, and freshman Riley Whitesides made the seven-woman All-Freshman team. 
 
Robinson is the eighth Gamecock in program history to be a three-time all-conference honoree, joining Mikayla Shields, Shonda Cole and Megan Hosp as individuals to make it three times in the modern scoring era (since 2001). In the 24-game, SEC-only season, Robinson averaged a career-high 2.52 kills per set while hitting .332 – the sixth-highest hitting percentage in a single season of conference play in program history. In the team’s 22 games, she reached double-digit kills 11 times and hit over .300 in nine of those 11 games.
 
On the defensive side, she ranked second on the team with 70 total blocks (15 solo), which pushed her over 400 for her career. She is one of just seven Gamecocks in the program history to reach the milestone, and also stands just 17 kills shy of 1000 for her career. Only Stephanie Pflughaupt (1986-89), Lori Rowe (1983-86) and hall of famer Heather Larkin (1994-97) have achieved the mark of 1000 career kills with 400 career blocks. 
 
Whitesides was a strong contender for SEC Freshman of the Year, but still is just the seventh member of the program to make the team – the most recent being Robinson in 2017. Whitesides was a revelation for the team in 2020-21, finishing second on the team with 261 kills while playing in every single set over the 22 conference matches.
 
Riley made history on March 8, as the Greenville, S.C. native was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for a third time this season. Prior to this, the only other Gamecocks to collect three weekly honors in a single season were Shonda Cole (2006), Aubrey Ezell (2015) and Mikayla Robinson (2019). Since joining the SEC, South Carolina has seen five different freshman Gamecocks take the honor a single time prior to the 2020-21 season, but between Whitesides and teammate Ellie Ruprich – a two-time recipient this year – South Carolina accounted for five of the 15 possible freshman of the week awards in 2020-21. Despite also ranking fourth among all NCAA freshmen in blocks and hitting .287 with 113 kills in her debut season, Ruprich was not included on the conference’s all-freshman team.
 
Over the 22 games, Whitesides reached double figures in kills 15 times while also playing all six rotations for the team. She showed a unique clutch gene for a first-year athlete, stepping up in two of the team’s biggest wins for the year. She hit .413 with 23 kills in the team’s upset of No. 4 Florida on Nov. 12, and then added 18 kills with a .316 hitting percentage in a win over No. 25 Missouri on Feb. 27. Her 261 kills in SEC play, is the most by a Gamecock freshman in a single conference season during the modern scoring era.
 
Among major award winners, Madison Lilley of Kentucky was chosen the Player of the Year. Jason Watson of Arkansas and Craig Skinner of Kentucky share the Coach of the Year honors. The All-SEC Team and All-Freshman squad were chosen by the league’s head coaches.

For updates on the team entering the offseason and into summer training, follow @GamecockVolley on Twitter and Instagram.