Upstate Sweeps Winston-Salem State, 3-0
10/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2007
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Sophomore Jesicah Ambrisco (Iowa City, Iowa/Regina Catholic) led the USC Upstate volleyball team with 22 kills and a mammoth .677 hitting percentage as Upstate used a hefty .324 hitting percentage to sweep Winston-Salem State, 3-0 (30-15, 30-27, 30-20) in non-conference action on Tuesday night at the C.E. Gaines Center. Upstate improved to 6-11 overall and Winston-Salem State fell to 3-15 overall.
Ambrisco's hefty .677 hitting percentage was a career-high, as she posted just one error in 31 chances to go with her 22 kills. Freshman Sandra Campbell (Orlando, Fla./Pilot Point (Texas)) added 10 kills while hitting .389 and adding two blocks. The tandem setting duo of sophomore Morgan Bucciferro (Joliet, Ill./Minooka Community) and junior Holly Mauldin (Columbia, S.C./Irmo) posted 17 and 16 assists, respectively. Freshman Megan Healey (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) added 15 digs and junior Jovana Lubura (Beograd, Serbia/New Mexico Military Institute) added four kills and five of the Spartans' 12 service aces.
Up 14-10 in the first game, the Spartans closed the game on a 16-5 run, led by seven straight points off the serve of junior Angie Varnum (Salinas, Puerto Rico/New Mexico Military Institute) to close the win. Both Campbell and Ambrisco had two kills during Varnum's serve.
In the second game, the Spartans built up an 18-10 lead after seven straight points off the serve of junior Tijana Knezevic (Indija, Serbia/New Mexico Military Institute). Ambrisco had two kills during the stretch. After that, though, the Lady Rams fought back into the game, coming within a point at 26-25, but an Ambrisco kill ended the threat, as the Spartans took the game, 30-28.
The Spartans closed out the night by hitting .394 (17 kills, four errors, 22 attacks) in the third game. After a Rams' kill made the score 9-8, the Spartans outscored their opponents 21-12 in the rest of the game. Lubura finished the game with a kill to end the match.
Annika Barnwell led the Lady Rams with 12 kills, six digs and three blocks. Valentina Pushkina posted 26 assists and Brandie Beane added eight digs.
Upstate will return home after a 2-2 road trip when it hosts Atlantic Sun foe East Tennessee State on Thursday at 6 p.m.
