South Carolina Gamecocks women's beach volleyball
American college volleyball team
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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.
| South Carolina Gamecocks | |
|---|---|
| |
| Founded | 2014 |
| University | University of South Carolina |
| Athletic director | Jeremiah Donati |
| Head coach | Jose Loiola (1st season) |
| Conference | Big 12 |
| Location | Columbia, South Carolina, US |
| Home arena | Wheeler Beach |
| Nickname | Gamecocks |
| Colors | Garnet and black[1] |
| AIAW/NCAA tournament appearance | |
| 2017, 2018 | |
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 | 21-8 | .724 | 1-2 | — | |||
| Total | 228-146 | .609 | CCSA 46-43' Big 12 1-2' | |||||