After reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 last season, the South Carolina volleyball team will look to establish a postseason trend in 2019 with the Gamecocks’ season opener on Friday morning.
South Carolina is set to begin their season in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a part of the Panther Challenge at Fitzgerald Field House hosted by the University of Pittsburgh which head coach Tom Mendoza is looking forward to playing in.
“That [Pittsburgh] tournament will be one of the best opening-week tournaments in the country," Mendoza said. "We want to be at that level, and this weekend gives us chances to do that, but everything is deserved. We need to prepare ourselves right away to be in a position to deserve the results we want."
The first challenge that awaits the Gamecocks in the Steel City is the Cincinnati Bearcats on Friday morning at 10 a.m. The Bearcats return with a lot of talent from their 2018 squad including American Athletic Conference's unanimous player of the year, Jordan Thompson.
South Carolina also finds a quality opponent in Cincinnati as the Bearcats finished their 2018 campaign with a 26-8 record while reaching the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament before falling to Marquette.
The second opponent that South Carolina will play in the Panther Challenge is the Cleveland State Vikings on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Although the Vikings came just shy of an NCAA Tournament berth with a loss in the Horizon League semi final, they are no pushover as Cleveland State finished the 2018 season with a winning record of 17-12 while averaging tenth in the NCAA in blocks per set with 2.84.
The Vikings are also returning their main contributor to that average in junior middle hitter Hannah Greene who averaged ninth in the NCAA with 1.51 blocks per set and first team All-Horizon League pick Trinniti Hall.
The final and perhaps the most difficult challenge awaiting South Carolina is the host of the tournament, the No. 12 Pitt Panthers. The Gamecocks and Panthers are set to face off on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The nationally-ranked Panthers finished the 2018 season with an astounding record of 30-2 while capturing the ACC title before being upset in just the second round of the NCAA Tournament by the Wolverines of Michigan.
Pitt once again has high expectations for its 2019 campaign as the Panthers were voted the preseason favorite to win back-to-back-to-back ACC titles notably due to the talent that will return for Pitt including four first team All-ACC picks.
After the Gamecocks finish business in the Steel City, they will turn their attention to the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Florida to face off against UCF, Kansas and Albany on Sept. 6-8.