The French Connection: Alicia Ogoms and Shannon Scully
February 17, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
Two Trojans reflect on playing professional volleyball together in France
It really is a small world.
Former USC women's volleyball players Alicia Ogoms '16 and Shannon Scully '22 discovered that to be true when their professional volleyball journeys crossed paths overseas at the Terville Florange Olympique Club in France. Having attended USC at different times, the two Trojans never stepped foot on the court together until now.
Scully felt comfort in knowing she would get to play with a fellow Trojan in her first year of professional volleyball. For her, playing with Ogoms has been nothing but positive.
"​​It's been so much fun being able to play together, getting to know each other better, being able to travel to so many new places and experience new cultures, especially with Alicia," Scully explained. "She's had several more years of experience being abroad, on the court and off the court, so I feel like I look up to her as someone I can go to for advice with really like anything, so it's been a lot of fun."
For Ogoms, playing with Scully has been refreshing, and has reminded her how vast the Trojan Family is.
"I feel like it's been really fun getting to play with someone who had their first year because this is my seventh year playing pro," she said. "Sometimes you can get to a point where volleyball becomes kind of a job and it's not as much fun anymore."
Despite not playing with each other at USC, it's clear that the shared connection to the Trojan Family created a special closeness between the two. When asked what this Trojan Family means to them, Scully quickly remarked, "It's everything."
She continued, "I think it's cool to see in any field you end up working in that there's somehow a USC alum and some sort of connection … it's pretty cool that Alicia and I both have the same passion and ended up being on the same team."
Ogoms believes that the Trojan Family allows her to feel deeply connected to USC even if it has been quite some time since she graduated. There are many women coming out of the USC pipeline and playing professionally in Europe, so she loves to keep tabs on how they are doing especially the ones she played with like Samantha Bricio '16.
"It's cool to always kind of have those connections," Ogoms said. "We might not be in the same part of the world or playing the same league, or whatever. But we stay connected because it's such a strong bond that we have going through the USC system."
As for how the USC system prepared them for the pro world, Ogoms and Scully agree they were set up for success.
Both of them stressed how much the competition and high caliber of play at USC and in the Pac-12 readied for what was to come in the professional world.
"The competition and the resources that we had at USC, like the weightlifting coaches, the academic support, and all the support, Alicia and I have talked about it multiple times," said Scully. "It's very cool to know that we had all that and now we're prepared to be on our own and not need to have those resources."
Jokingly, Ogoms added how professional volleyball has been easier than anything she had done at USC.
"I could just play volleyball and not have to worry about an exam on Monday. Amazing. I think everything has been easier for me since I was in college."
Of course, the academic and athletic rigor of USC challenged both of the athletes, but in the end, gave them the tools to succeed after graduation.
Ogoms equally emphasized how much USC prepared her as a person, not just an athlete or student. At 18 years old, she moved to Los Angeles from Canada to play at USC. While it was a difficult transition for her, Ogoms credits her time at USC for helping her grow as a person, something that has truly benefited her when moving overseas — a sentiment echoed by Scully.
"USC prepared me, in the best way possible, to be on my own and compete at a high level."
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Former USC women's volleyball players Alicia Ogoms '16 and Shannon Scully '22 discovered that to be true when their professional volleyball journeys crossed paths overseas at the Terville Florange Olympique Club in France. Having attended USC at different times, the two Trojans never stepped foot on the court together until now.
Scully felt comfort in knowing she would get to play with a fellow Trojan in her first year of professional volleyball. For her, playing with Ogoms has been nothing but positive.
"​​It's been so much fun being able to play together, getting to know each other better, being able to travel to so many new places and experience new cultures, especially with Alicia," Scully explained. "She's had several more years of experience being abroad, on the court and off the court, so I feel like I look up to her as someone I can go to for advice with really like anything, so it's been a lot of fun."
For Ogoms, playing with Scully has been refreshing, and has reminded her how vast the Trojan Family is.
"I feel like it's been really fun getting to play with someone who had their first year because this is my seventh year playing pro," she said. "Sometimes you can get to a point where volleyball becomes kind of a job and it's not as much fun anymore."
Despite not playing with each other at USC, it's clear that the shared connection to the Trojan Family created a special closeness between the two. When asked what this Trojan Family means to them, Scully quickly remarked, "It's everything."
She continued, "I think it's cool to see in any field you end up working in that there's somehow a USC alum and some sort of connection … it's pretty cool that Alicia and I both have the same passion and ended up being on the same team."
Ogoms believes that the Trojan Family allows her to feel deeply connected to USC even if it has been quite some time since she graduated. There are many women coming out of the USC pipeline and playing professionally in Europe, so she loves to keep tabs on how they are doing especially the ones she played with like Samantha Bricio '16.
"It's cool to always kind of have those connections," Ogoms said. "We might not be in the same part of the world or playing the same league, or whatever. But we stay connected because it's such a strong bond that we have going through the USC system."
As for how the USC system prepared them for the pro world, Ogoms and Scully agree they were set up for success.
Both of them stressed how much the competition and high caliber of play at USC and in the Pac-12 readied for what was to come in the professional world.
"The competition and the resources that we had at USC, like the weightlifting coaches, the academic support, and all the support, Alicia and I have talked about it multiple times," said Scully. "It's very cool to know that we had all that and now we're prepared to be on our own and not need to have those resources."
Jokingly, Ogoms added how professional volleyball has been easier than anything she had done at USC.
"I could just play volleyball and not have to worry about an exam on Monday. Amazing. I think everything has been easier for me since I was in college."
Of course, the academic and athletic rigor of USC challenged both of the athletes, but in the end, gave them the tools to succeed after graduation.
Ogoms equally emphasized how much USC prepared her as a person, not just an athlete or student. At 18 years old, she moved to Los Angeles from Canada to play at USC. While it was a difficult transition for her, Ogoms credits her time at USC for helping her grow as a person, something that has truly benefited her when moving overseas — a sentiment echoed by Scully.
"USC prepared me, in the best way possible, to be on my own and compete at a high level."
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