With All-SEC freshman Mikayla Shields returning for her sophomore season, the South Carolina women’s volleyball team isn’t shying away from competition in 2017.
Shields was named to the preseason All-SEC team after setting the USC program record for hitting percentage (.308) and leading the Gamecocks with 341 kills in 2016. She and five other sophomores return to the team, hoping to build on last season’s 18-12 overall and 6-12 conference record. USC’s 18 wins last season were the most since 2012.
"We intentionally scheduled tougher this year, we knew were going to have a talented team," head coach Scott Swanson told GamecocksOnline. "It’s what our girls wanted, it’s what our coaches wanted and it’s important that we get challenged in the preseason so that we’re not surprised by that first SEC weekend."
When she began her freshman season, Shields said she was just hoping to live up to Swanson’s expectations. Now, she’s coming off one of the best freshman seasons in USC program history, playing in 105 of 106 sets and earning MVP honors at the College of Charleston Tournament in August.
This past summer, Shields spent time training with Team USA and played in four matches with the under-20 team.
“We are so proud of Mikayla being named to the preseason team," Swanson told GamecocksOnline. "She has proven to be a program-changing talent, and this promises to be an exciting year for our team as a whole."
Similar to Shields, middle blocker and outside hitter Alicia Starr led the team in total blocks with 80 and owned a team-high 1.13 block per set rate as a freshman last season.
The Gamecocks’ setter, Asheville native Courtney Koehler, is also a sophomore. Koehler played in all 30 matches for the Gamecocks in 2016, setting 12 aces with only nine service errors and averaging four assists and 1.08 digs per set, according to GamecocksOnline.
Five seniors graduated last season, including Megan Kirkland, who led the team with 349 total digs. The defensive specialist started 26 games at the libero position, and her 3.39 digs per set average ranked ninth in the SEC.
The Gamecocks will also be without graduated seniors outside hitters Koko Atoa-Williams and Dessaa Legros, who both set career bests in solo blocks last season. Instead, USC will welcome four freshmen to the squad, including outside hitters Jess Vastine and Brooke Gostomski and middle blockers Mikayla Robinson and Ellie Popelka.
The Gamecocks will go to work in their season opener against Mercer as a part of the Gamecock Invitational at 7 p.m. on Aug. 25. More notable tournaments include the Duke Invitational on Sept. 1 in Durham, the Carolina Classic on Sept. 8 in Columbia, and the Clemson Challenge in Clemson on Sept. 16. They begin their SEC Slate at Mississippi State on Sept. 22.
“I think this year, the SEC schedule for us lines up better than it has in my seven seasons,” Swanson told GamecocksOnline. “Any given night, especially on the road, you’re going to get into a battle, it doesn’t matter if it’s a last-place team or the first-place team. You always have to bring your A-game. You can’t take anybody lightly in this league, and we’re excited for the challenge every night.”