Sand volleyball has seen its popularity in America spike within the past few years, and South Carolina joined the movement when making it its 21st varsity sport back in 2013.
Since the program’s inception, head coach Moritz Moritz has overseen the Gamecocks’ development.
Moritz has had various jobs as a volleyball coach in California, Colorado, Idaho and now South Carolina.
Moritz became an assistant coach for the Gamecocks indoor volleyball team in 2011. When the university expressed interested in adding sand volleyball as an official sport, he saw an opportunity and took it.
“With my prospective work with the indoor team and my passion about beach volleyball, it was a no-brainer situation,” Moritz said.
Although many think outdoor volleyball and indoor volleyball are similar, the two sports are actually considerably different.
The most obvious difference between the two sports is their respective play surfaces. Rain or shine, indoor volleyball goes on with no problems, but only when the weather permits can sand volleyball continue right on schedule. According to Mortiz, his players have to adapt every day to new situations that the court and weather bring in addition to their opponents.
South Carolina plays its home matches at its own sand volleyball complex, which is located next to the Carolina Softball Stadium and the Carolina Tennis Center.
The Gamecocks opened up practice in late January and had to deal with the cold temperatures that come with winter. Nonetheless, the players handled that fairly well.
“The cool thing is you never hear our girls complain about [the weather]. It gets said out there and addressed, then they focus on the next thing.” Moritz said.
While one might imagine the difficulty to recruit in a sport that’s still relatively new at the college level, Moritz said that getting players to come to South Carolina isn’t too hard.
“That’s one of the major upsides of a school like ours. We have access to recruiting across the country, and internationally as well, because we are a well-known, high-level sports and academics establishment,” Moritz said. “This allows us to be active in a lot of different markets for recruiting, and great opportunities to see the development of the sport sand volleyball.”
Ten games into the 2015, the Gamecocks have gotten off to a good start with an overall record of 7-2. Still, Moritz wants to see his team continue to grow and better itself as the season progresses.
“We want to grow and improve at a consistent pace,” Moritz said.
Coming from a coaching stand point, Moritz said that one of his main goals for South Carolina is for the program to continue to improve as the sport itself grows.
“We always talked about this since day one, just constantly working to improve as we learn more about our players, program and how the sport works,” Moritz said.
While indoor volleyball generally has a much more intense vibe to it, Moritz has a relaxed approach as a coach, according to senior Paige Wheeler.
“Coach always tells Megan Kent and me before we play to keep it simple and do what you do best,” Wheeler said. “He is really great at keeping us relaxed and calm so we can play our best.”
Moritz is already pleased with the performance of the team as compared to last year’s innagural season, and referencing his team’s improved depth.
One of the perks of being in the SEC is the team’s opportunity to have some of its games broadcasted on the SEC Network, which is beneficial for both the players and the program.
“Some of the players are from California and now their loved ones can watch them,” Moritz said. “Plus, our exposure to showcase how dynamic the sport is and our athletes is an incredible opportunity.”
South Carolina is in action again on Friday as the team hosts the Gamecock Invitational. The event runs through the weekend. South Carolina will face Carson-Newman, Arizona State, Tulane, Florida State and UAB.