South Carolina women's volleyball won all nine of their sets over the course of three matches to earn the College of Charleston Invitational title this weekend. With victories over the College of Charleston, Tennessee-Martin and Binghamton, the Gamecocks will start their season with a perfect 3-0 record.
While the perfect weekend was encouraging on an overall team level, it was highlighted by some individual performances.
Freshman Mikayla Shields made quite the first impression in her South Carolina debut, recording 33 kills and a .522 hitting percentage while being named the tournament MVP. In the final game against Binghamton she lead the team with 13 kills.
On her first weekend, Shields said, "I feel like I am slowly getting acclimated towards the speed of the game, and I am really excited to see where this season takes us."
After losing two of their top three leaders in kills from last year's team, the infusion of Shields into South Carolina's attack should help make up for some of those key losses.
Along with Shields senior outside hitter Koko Atoa-Williams and sophomore setter Aubrey Ezell were alsorecognized on the All-Tournament team.
The Gamecocks also capitalized on the 80 errors that their opponents committed in the series.
South Carolina will look to carry their momentum into their next match when they return home to host in-state rival Clemson at 7 p.m.