We let no Gamecock sport go unnoticed at Gamecock Scoop. We are committed to making sure our readers are well informed on the entirety of Gamecock athletics. South Carolina's first serve took place on Friday, August 26 and we wanted to give you a primer for the upcoming season.

The Gamecocks are entering their fifth season under head coach Tom Mendoza. Coach Mendoza has guided Carolina to three NCAA births in his first four seasons, with the Gamecocks advancing to the second round twice. The Gamecocks have never advanced past the second round in program history dating back to 1973. Prior to Coach Mendoza's arrival in Columbia, the Gamecocks had not made the NCAA Tournament since 2002 when they were led by the program's all-time wins leader Kim Hudson. Carolina is 39-37 in SEC play dating back to 2018. Prior to Mendoza, the Gamecocks did not have a winning record in conference play from 2009-2017. The last time the program had a winning SEC record in three consecutive seasons was 2000-2002. The Gamecocks have advanced to the NCAA Tournament ten times in program history and won the Metro Conference in 1984, the program's only conference title. In short, there is room in the trophy case. We can't project this year's Carolina team to win the SEC, but they should contend for a top 5 league finish.

Coach Mendoza brought in four freshmen and two transfers along with a trio of 2021 freshmen that led Carolina to a 14-15 record and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. SEC coaches tabbed the Gamecocks 6th out of 13, (Vanderbilt does not compete in volleyball- in addition to football), in their preseason poll. The Gamecocks have a preseason RPI rank of 41.

Amongst the returners, setter Claire Wilson, pin hitter Lauren McCutcheon and defensive specialist Morgan Carter all look to improve solid freshman seasons. Wilson and McCutcheon were the only two Gamecocks to play in every set last fall. As mentioned above, Shane Beamer is not the only Carolina coach to nab some impact transfers. Jenna Hampton is a Grad Transfer from Penn State and has already been selected to the preseason All-SEC team, the only Gamecock to earn that honor. Hampton is a libero and led the Big 10 with 4.83 digs per set. Delaney Hans joins Hampton as a Grad Student playing her final year of college volleyball at Columbia. Hans decided to stay in the SEC after playing 70 matches at Georgia. Hans had her best seasons in the final two years in Athens, combining for 784 assists and 259 digs in 157 sets.

Of the four freshmen, three are homegrown products in Tireh Smith, (Moncks Corner), Kimmie Thompson, (Simpsonville), and Alayna Johnson, (Kershaw). They are joined by Pennsylvania native, 6'4 blocker Megan Holland.

The SEC is a grind in almost every sport, and volleyball is no exception. Kentucky won the National Championship in 2020 and Florida is a long-standing power in the sport. Those two programs along with Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi State were picked to finish above Carolina in the SEC. South Carolina plays 18 conference matches that are capped off with a trip to Lexington for two contents against Kentucky.

The Gamecocks open the season at home in the three-match round-robin Carolina Classic. (*** Since this article was written Carolina beat Omaha, Sacred Heart, and Winthrop to start the season 3-0). The first week of September features three road matches against ACC foes UNC, Wake Forest, and Clemson. South Carolina did defeat Clemson 3-0 last season. On September 16-17th Carolina will head to Miami to take part in the Hurricane Invitational, where they will play the host Hurricanes and then Oregon. The Ducks are currently ranked 19th. USC will return home to face Florida in two matches to start SEC play on September 24-25.

Our best guess is that the Gamecocks will make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament and greatly improve on last season's 6-12 SEC record as this squad should be Coach Mendoza's best team.