Volleyball Hosts Loaded Tournament Field in Opening Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball begins the fall season with arguably the biggest week one tournament in the country, as the Gamecocks host the Carolina Classic Aug. 27-28. Three ranked opponents make their way to the Carolina Volleyball Center, starting with a 2 p.m. match Friday against No. 18 Washington State, then a 10 a.m. match vs. No. 23 Rice and a 7 p.m. match with No. 9 Pitt on Saturday. All three matches for South Carolina will air on the SEC Network+ online.

SCOUTING THE WEEK ONE FIELD
No. 18 Washington State has made five consecutive NCAA tournaments and return three all-region honorees from last season: Magda Jehlářová (2.10 kills and 1.29 blocks per set), Hannah Pukis (9.31 assists and 2.74 digs per set) and Pia Timmer (team-high 173 kills). A Saturday day-night double feature starts with a 10 a.m. match against No. 23 Rice before the weekend closes with a 7 p.m. match with No. 9 Pitt. Rice received an at-large bid to last season’s tournament, but withdrew because of COVID-19 protocols. The Owls seek to remain one of the top programs nationally this fall and are led by all-american pin hitter Nicole Lennon – who ranks second in the country for career kills among active players. Pitt is coming off making the NCAA tournament regional final for the first time in program history and may have an even better team this fall, returning all-americans Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee for a fifth year while also adding strong transfers from Missouri (Leketor Member-Meneh) and Penn State (Serena Gray).

A CHALLENGING RETURN TO ‘NORMALCY’
The team’s quest for a third NCAA tournament bid under head coach Tom Mendoza begins with a more “normal” format, bringing back a non-conference slate with an 18-game SEC schedule. The conference format will have a small change from years past, with matches on back-to-back days for six opponents along with six standalone matches.

The non-conference season will pose plenty of challenges for the team, as the opening weekend with three ranked opponents gives way to the Palmetto Showdown in the CVC Sept. 2-3. South Carolina plays twice against UCF and also brings in rival Clemson for matches on Thursday, Sept. 2 and Friday, Sept. 3. The Knights bring in one of the top players in the country with senior McKenna Melville, who averaged 4.55 kills and 2.97 digs per set on the way to earning her conference’s player of the year honors. The annual match against Clemson – paused last season – resumes with a 1 p.m. showdown with the Tigers on Sept. 3 that airs nationally on the SEC Network.

The non-conference schedule wraps up with at Kennesaw State, facing the host Owls on Sept. 9, and Santa Clara at 4 p.m. on Sept. 10, then matches against Winthrop in Rock Hill on Sept. 16 and High Point two days later back home in the CVC.

GAMECOCKS WELCOME FIVE FRESHMEN TO COLUMBIA
Despite bringing back 14 letterwinners from last season, South Carolina’s 2021 freshmen class could be talented enough to get some playing time early and often on this veteran roster. The Gamecocks bring in five high school standouts at four different positions.

“I think it’s a really well-rounded class. All great people, very driven,” head coach Tom Mendoza said. “I think they’re going to fit in really well with the culture we’re trying to build and the direction we’re trying to go on the court, so I couldn’t be more excited.”

Oby Anadi is a 6-3 middle blocker from Slidell, La. – the first recruit from Louisiana in the program’s modern era. She was a four-year varsity letter winner and made her all-district team twice. As a senior, she led her high school to the quarterfinals of the state tournament and totaled 357 kills, 120 blocks and 39 service aces.

Morgan Carter is a defensive specialist who played her senior year of high school at Plano West  in Texas and with Madfrog Volleyball Club. Before the move to Texas, she was a four year varsity letter winner and earned two state championships will attending high school in Tennessee. 

Lauren McCutcheon comes to the program from the upstate, starring at J.L. Mann Academy in Greenville. The daughter of two former Gamecock student-athletes, McCutcheon already owns an impressive volleyball resume, making the all-state and AVCA all-region teams five times and earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors for South Carolina. Outside of high school volleyball, McCutcheon represented the United States as a member of the Deaf Volleyball National Team, winning gold at the 2019 Pan American Deaf Games. 

Emmy Rollins is another in-state star coming to Columbia, joining the team from West Florence High School. She made the all-state team twice and AVCA all-region team four times, also making the 2020 Under Armour Honorable Mention All-America team.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Claire Wilson gives the team an imposing presence it has not had in many years, bring a 6-3 frame to the setter position. In her four seasons playing varsity, making the all-region team for each of her first three seasons and earning her region’s Most Valuable Player award as a senior.

FASTEST TO 50
Head coach Tom Mendoza earned his 50th win at South Carolina on Feb. 27 against No. 25 Missouri. He is the fastest Gamecock coach to reach 50 wins (based on the available records), including a faster start than the two winningest coaches in program history – Kim Williams (226 wins) and Bonnie Kenny (171). Mendoza won No. 50 in his 78th game with the team, compared to 82 for Kenny and 86 for Williams. The quick success stems from the team’s quick turnaround in SEC play; South Carolina has double-digit conference wins in each of Mendoza’s three seasons, the only other time that has happened in Gamecock history was from 2000-02 in Coach Williams’ eighth, ninth and tenth seasons in Columbia. 

Mendoza has another milestone that lies just ahead of him, as he begins year four at South Carolina with 99 career wins as a head coach. He has a 52-32 mark with the Gamecocks and previously went 47-18 in two seasons at High Point.

2020-21 SEASON NOTABLES

• Despite losing five of its seven starters from 2019, the Gamecocks picked up right where they left off and went 12-10 playing a SEC-only schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• In the postseason, Mikayla Robinson made the 18-woman All-SEC team and 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. 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 finished second on the team with 261 kills while playing in every set over the 22 conference matches. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors three times. Her 261 kills in SEC play is the most by a Gamecock freshman in a single conference season during the modern scoring era. She also led the team in serve receptions and finished third in digs and total blocks.
• On Nov. 12, South Carolina upset No. 4 Florida, snapping a 23-game losing streak to the Gators.
• The team earned the No. 15 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) weekly coaches poll on Nov. 4, the program’s first appearance in the rankings since 2002. 
• Robinson finished the season five blocks shy of the program’s rally-scoring-era record for a career. She became the seventh woman in program history to reach 400 career blocks on Feb. 27 vs. Missouri. 
• Freshmen Ellie Ruprich played like a seasoned veteran in her first year. Despite playing a SEC-only schedule, Ruprich’s team-leading 84 blocks ranks third on South Carolina’s single-season conference-only record book and is the fourth-highest total by a Gamecock freshman in the rally-scoring era.
• Camilla Covas showed perhaps the most growth of any sophomore on the roster, anchoring the back line of the defense as the team’s libero in 14 matches. She led the team with 232 digs, reaching double-digit digs in 12 of her 14 starts as the team’s libero, with two 20+ dig performances. Covas also led the team with 27 service aces (0.36 per set), with four games with three or more aces.
• Coming in as a graduate transfer after a successful career at Coastal Carolina, Kyla Manning showed she can handle the pressure of SEC play with a debut season in Columbia. She led the offense with 273 kills – the third-highest total in SEC play in the modern scoring era – while also totaling 188 digs with just five reception errors on 343 chances in serve reception.
• Along with Manning, fellow grad transfer Mallory Dixon gave the team a big shot in the arm during her first year as a Gamecock. She was one of three members of the team to play in all 84 sets for the season, dishing out 634 assists while finishing second on the team with 26 service aces, highlighted by a streak of 12 games with at least one ace (1/30 to 3/19).

STATUS QUO IN THE CLASSROOM
While the 2020-21 schedule was far from normal on the court, the Gamecocks were business as usual when it came to academics. The group finished the semester with a combined 3.55 GPA in the fall and 3.44 GPA in the spring. South Carolina is going on 12 consecutive seasons on the AVCA’s Team Academic Award list and have put double-digit student-athletes on the SEC’s Fall Academic Honor Roll for six years in a row. This all comes on top of an ambitious course load that spans the world-renowned business school and sports science fields and into engineering and education.

ROBINSON READY TO JOIN EXCLUSIVE CLUB
A COVID-shortened 2020-21 season left Mikayla Robinson just 17 kills shy of making a very prestigious club for the program, but with the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility she has a chance to make an indelible mark on the record book. Heading into the fall, Robinson’s 422 career blocks is six away from breaking the rally-scoring era record, currently held by Darian Dozier (2012-15). Another milestone just over the horizon is 1,000 career kills; Robinson stands at 983 and would be the 16th member of the program to reach 1,000. When combining the two marks, only three other Gamecocks can boast 1,000 kills AND 400 blocks in a career: Lori Rowe (1983-86), Stephanie Pflughaupt (1986-89) and Heather Larkin (1994-97)

MCCUTCHEON CONTINUES A FAMILY LEGACY IN THE GARNET AND BLACK
When she steps on to the court for her first action of the season, freshman Lauren McCutcheon will be the next generation of Gamecock from her family. The Simpsonville, S.C. native is the daughter of Jason Pomar and Kendra Stout; Jason played baseball and football at South Carolina, while Kendra played softball at Carolina. Her mother ranks fourth in program history for games played (259) and led the Gamecocks to the SEC championship and Women’s College World Series in 1997. Her father pitched for the Gamecocks, making 87 appearances over four seasons – tied for sixth in program history – and played for the football team during the 1996 season. Lauren brings an equally impressive resume to the team, having won the 2020-21 Gatorade South Carolina Volleyball Player of the Year award while playing high school ball at J.L. Mann Academy.

SERVING UP A CHALLENGE
With so much of the game decided behind the service line, the Gamecocks will turn to a productive trio to keep the pressure on the opposition this fall. Last season, South Carolina had three individuals record 20 or more aces over the course of the team’s 22 matches. Camilla Covas led the way with 27 in 74 sets, followed closely by Mallory Dixon (26 in 84 sets) and Kyla Manning (24 in 84 sets). They combined for 71 percent of the team’s ace total last season; the last time the Gamecocks had three or more individuals averaging 0.25 aces per set or more in a single season was in 2005. 

SERVICE (RECEPTION) WITH A SMILE
Despite a lineup that featured four new starters and a new libero, South Carolina still saw some promising numbers in the serve reception game in the 2020-21 season. As a team, the Gamecocks allowed 1.24 aces per set to their opponents in 2020-21, compared to 1.51 in 2019 and 1.34 in 2018. The team returns its top four passers from last season, a group that accounted for over 90 percent of the team’s total serve receptions: Riley Whitesides (505 receptions), Camilla Covas (462), Kyla Manning (343) and Lauren Bowers (162). Highlighting the quartet is Kyla Manning, who was aced just five times total in 343 chances in 84 sets played. 

The serve game has been crucial and a major point of emphasis in coach Tom Mendoza‘s three seasons as head coach; the Gamecocks are 39-7 when matching or surpassing the opposition in aces.

WILLIAMS JOINS 2021 HALL OF FAME CLASS
On Aug. 20, it was announced that ten new members have been elected to the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, including former volleyball head coach Kim Williams.

Williams coached from 1993-2004 and helped put the program back on the map. She took her teams to the NCAA Tournament on six occasions while winning a school-record 236 matches. She posted a .630 winning percentage and recorded eight 20-win seasons. Highlighting her win total is a program-record 104 wins against SEC opponents; for comparison, the program overall has 218 wins in SEC play since joining the conference back in 1991. She was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 1997 and mentored 16 All-SEC team members, many of them collecting multiple honors. 

Since the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame was created in 1967, 197 members have been selected by the University of South Carolina Association of Lettermen. Williams and the nine other individuals will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Thursday, October 14.

The volleyball program already has four former players enshrined in the hall of fame – all four (Ashley Edlund, Heather Larkin, Cally Plummer and Shonda Cole) played for Williams during their time in Columbia.

SOPHOMORE CLASS READY FOR NEXT STEP IN 2021
Despite a debut season filled with personal and global adversity, the 2020 freshmen class proved to be a key group in the team’s success all season long. Riley Whitesides and Ellie Ruprich started in the season opener and were mainstays in the lineup all year; Whitesides finished second on the team with 261 kills while playing in every single set over the 22 conference matches, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors three times over the course of the season. Her 261 kills in SEC play is the most by a Gamecock freshman in a single conference season during the modern scoring era. She also led the team in serve receptions and finished third in digs and total blocks. Ruprich dominated at the net, leading the team with 84 blocks. That ranks third on South Carolina’s single-season conference-only record book and is the fourth-highest total by a Gamecock freshman in the rally-scoring era.

Not to be overshadowed, Caitlin Crawford and Kiune Fletcher saw their roles evolve as the season went on. Crawford came in as a serving specialist and ended with six aces and 30 digs while playing in 19 of the team’s 22 matches. Fletcher joined the team late after finding difficulty traveling from her home country of Trinidad and Tobago during the COVID-19 pandemic. After playing in just eight sets in the fall, she ended up seeing the court in nine spring matches.

MENDOZA’S TRENDING TOPICS
In Head Coach Tom Mendoza’s tenure with the team…

• Home is where the heart is. The Gamecocks are 29-9 at the Carolina Volleyball Center in Mendoza’s three seasons. The team had lost five or more home matches for nine consecutive seasons before 2018.
• September has been the team’s best month, combining for a 17-3 mark in the two seasons. The highlight came in 2018 with a perfect 9-0 record in September, the first Gamecock squad since 1983 to do so.
• South Carolina steps up big on Sundays, with a combined 16-5 record on that day of the week.
• Start fast! The Gamecocks are 44-5 when winning the first set.
• In five-set matches, the team holds an 14-4 record. In the three years prior, the Gamecocks were just 7-8 in five-setters.
• The offense has out-hit opponents 52 times and have lost just threetimes when recording a higher hitting percentage.
• Aces have been a key to victory; in the two seasons under Mendoza, the Gamecocks are 39-7 when matching or surpassing the opposition in aces.
• Finding success away from home is trending up. Under Mendoza, the Gamecocks are 23-21 in road or neutral matches. In the five seasons prior to that, they were 30-46 (.395). In 2019 the team’s combined record away from home was 10-9, the first time being over .500 away from home in back-to-back seasons since 2001-02.

ALL TIME RECORDS

• South Carolina holds an 849-660 (.563) all-time record, dating back to 1973. The team’s 800th win came on Aug. 25, 2018 against Clemson.
• The Gamecocks joined the SEC for volleyball in 1991, and have an all-time conference record of 216-285 (.432). The 200th SEC win came on Nov. 8, 2019 at Mississippi State.
• In matches in the Carolina Volleyball Center, Carolina is 219-120 (.649) overall and 116-103 (.530) in SEC matches. The CVC’s 200th win came on Nov. 16, 2018 against Ole Miss.
• Tom Mendoza became the program’s 13th head coach on Jan. 3, 2018. This is his fifth season overall as a head coach, with a career record of 99-48 and a record of 52-30 at South Carolina. He has led his respective teams to the NCAA tournament in all four years as a head coach.