South Carolina Gamecocks women's beach volleyball

South Carolina Gamecocks
Founded2014
UniversityUniversity of South Carolina
Athletic directorJeremiah Donati
Head coachJose Loiola (1st season)
ConferenceBig 12
LocationColumbia, South Carolina, US
Home arenaWheeler Beach
NicknameGamecocks
ColorsGarnet and black[1]
   
AIAW/NCAA tournament appearance
2017, 2018

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's beach volleyball team represents the University of South Carolina in NCAA Division I college volleyball. The team was founded as an independent in 2014, with the upcoming 2026 season being its first in the Big 12 Conference. From 2016 to 2025, the Gamecocks competed in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA). Home matches are held at the on-campus Wheeler beach venue which sits between the Carolina Softball Stadium and Carolina Tennis Center.

History

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's beach volleyball played their first season in 2014, led by head coach Moritz Moritz, who had previously served as an assistant coach on the Indoor South Carolina Gamecocks team.[2][3] For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, the Gamecocks competed as an independent team; however, with the establishment of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in 2016, the team joined the CCSA. At the time, they shared this 6-team conference with fellow SEC all-sport member LSU; Florida State; Tulane; TCU; and Missouri State.[4] The number of conference beach volleyball teams used to be between 10-14 members, but a host of former members, left to start Conference USA Beach Volleyball in 2021, leaving the CCSA with 6 teams beginning in the 2022 season.[5] The Gamecocks have qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice under Moritz, in 2017 and 2018, but failed to win a match in either appearance.

The CCSA dropped to 5 teams after the 2023 season when Missouri State and TCU became beach volleyball affiliates of Conference USA, and then to 4 a year later when Grand Canyon moved beach volleyball to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The final four CCSA teams (Florida State, LSU, South Carolina, Texas) initially announced they would join MPSF beach volleyball for the 2026 season,[6] but South Carolina and Florida State instead joined Big 12 beach volleyball.[7]

Year-by-year results

Year Head Coach Overall Winning Percentage Conference Standing Postseason
South Carolina Gamecocks (Independent) (2014–2015)
2014[8] Moritz Moritz 5-12 .294
2015[9] Moritz Moritz 14-7 .667
South Carolina Gamecocks (Coastal Collegiate Sports Association) (2016–2025)
2016[10] Moritz Moritz 20–16 .556 5-5 5th
2017[11] Moritz Moritz 23-11 .676 11-5 4th NCAA Tournament
2018[12] Moritz Moritz 24-9 .727 9-3 2nd NCAA Tournament
2019[13] Moritz Moritz 20-11 .645 7-7 4th
2020[14] Moritz Moritz 5-7 .417 1-3 11th Postseason Cancelled
2021[15] Moritz Moritz 23-9 .719 12-5 4th
2022[16] Moritz Moritz 20-12 .625 1-5 4th
2023[17] Moritz Moritz 19-12 .613 0-3 5th
2024[18] Moritz Moritz 20-16 .556 0-4 4th
2025[19] Moritz Moritz 14–17 .452 0–3 4th
South Carolina Gamecocks (Big 12 Conference) (2026–present)
2026 Jose Loiola 8-2 .800 0-0
Total 215-140 .604 CCSA 46-43

See also

References