South Carolina volleyball is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. They received a bid in the No. 8 seeded Washington regional and will play Colorado State in Seattle in the first round on Friday at 8 p.m.
The team also wrapped up its 2019 regular 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 this week. Here is a look into what happened.
Under second-year coach Tom Mendoza, the Gamecocks finished their 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 with an overall record of 19-11, conference record of 11-7 and a 10-3 record at home.
Seniors
Seniors this year included middle blocker Claire Edwards, defensive specialist Addie Bryant, setter Courtney Koehler, right side Mikayla Shields and outsider hitters Brittany McLean and Alicia Starr. Throughout the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 it was the seniors who combined for 58% of the team鈥檚 kills, 78% of team assists and 75% of team aces.
Edwards had a career-high 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 this year. Her average points per set were 2.41 and her hitting percentage was .315. Another success of Edward's senior 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 was her 17 aces and 97 blocks.
Season start
The Gamecocks opened their 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 with the Panther Challenge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida.
After those two tournaments, the team was 3-3 and traveled back to Columbia to host UNC-Charlotte in the first home match.
Despite the slow start in the tournaments, the Gamecocks swept the 49ers at home in front of 1,721 fans.
Key game
One of the most exciting games of the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 for the Gamecocks was their second 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 game against Cleveland State in the Panther Challenge. After coming off a 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒-opening loss to Cincinnati the day before, South Carolina rallied to claim its first win of the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 the following day.
The Gamecocks had to overcome a 2-1 set deficit against the Vikings, and that comeback was aided by junior Jess Vastine who had a double-double with 16 digs and 16 kills, and senior Shields who had 17 kills for the night.
Season as a whole
The overall 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 had a lot of highs, including 12 sweeps.
The longest win streak was five, which included wins over Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
The Gamecocks proved to perform under pressure after winning five out of six five-set-matches, only losing to Georgia 2-3 midway through the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒.
It was the leadership of the team's six seniors that helped the Gamecocks achieve a 19-11 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 record.
Also aiding South Carolina's winning record this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 were juniors Jess Vastine and Mikayla Robinson. When South Carolina wins, the two of them are performing highly in aces, kills and blocks.
Looking ahead to the post麻豆小蝌蚪传媒
South Carolina will now turn its attention to Colorado State on Friday in the Seattle, Washington, regional. The Gamecocks will take on the Rams at 8 p.m. The winner will take on the winner of Washington and Winthrop in the second round.
Before last 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, the Gamecocks' last NCAA Tournament bid came in 2002.
鈥淚 think it was a stepping stone for this program,鈥� Edwards said about the post麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 bid last 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒. 鈥淵ou know, now we have a higher standard for ourself and expectations, and we expect to continue that from years on, even after the seniors graduate.鈥�