Spartans Head To Campbell For Atlantic Sun Showdown Saturday
10/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2007
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SPARTANBURG, S.C - When USC Upstate battles Campbell on Saturday in Buies Creek, N.C., it will be a battle for position in the Atlantic Sun standings, with both teams entering the match at 1-7 in the conference ledger. The Spartans have strung together one of their most successful part of the season in the last three matches, having won eight games over that time and compiling a 2-1 record. Meanwhile, the Lady Camels will enter having lost their last three conference matches and three of their last four. The Camels are led by Femi Alabi, who averaged 2.91 kills and 1.08 blocks per match. In conference play, she is hitting .412 and averaging 3.54 kills per game. The Spartans and Camels have met once since Upstate joined the NCAA, as then USC Spartanburg won a thrilling five-game match on Oct. 30, 1999, taking the final game, 16-14.
The Kill
Sophomore Jesicah Ambrisco is starting to make waves in the Atlantic Sun Conference with her steady play. Thanks to a 4.12 kills per game average and .347 hitting clip in the Spartans' two matches over the weekend, the Iowa City, Iowa, native moved up a slot to seventh in the conference in kills per game, averaging 3.47 per match. Ambrisco posted a match-high 11 kills and added three blocks in Upstate's sweep over Winston-Salem State and added a team-high 22 kills, her third game of 20 or more kills this season, in a five-game loss to Gardner-Webb. In all, Ambrisco posted 35.5 points in eight games during the weekend, an average of 4.4 per game, helping to move her into eighth in the conference in points per game (3.73).
Healey(ng) Hands
Freshman Megan Healey has been a key to the back row for the Spartans all season long, posting 10 or more digs in 16 of her 21 matches. The Spartan libero and Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team candidate has added four 20-dig matches, including a 26-dig effort against Wofford on Aug. 25. Although her 3.69 digs per game average sits just outside the conference's top 10, her serve is among the best in the conference. Her average of 0.42 aces per game is eighth in the conference.
Hitting .300
During the Spartans' 3-0 sweep against Winston-Salem State on Friday, the Spartans hit a strong .304 during the match, the third time this season the team has hit more than .300. Upstate posted a school DI-record in its first match at the new level, hitting a smoking .462 in a three-game win against Savannah State. The Spartans also crossed the .300 mark with a strong .324 mark at Winston-Salem State on Oct. 2.
New Look For Leslie
When head coach Jennifer Calloway changed the lineup before the Florida Gulf Coast match, junior Jenna Leslie had posted just one kill and six digs in the previous five matches, combined. In the four matches since, the Houston, Texas, native has led the Spartans by averaging 4.7 digs per match and she has added 1.3 kills and 0.6 blocks per match. She notched a career-high 16 kills in the five-match win against Stetson on Oct. 13 and posted the game-winning kill in the fifth and deciding game with a touch kill that split the Hatters' front and back rows. Against Gardner-Webb, Leslie chipped in with five kills and 15 digs, four assists, two aces and three blocks.
Lubura's Reaches New High
Junior Jovana Lubura, who has battled a nagging back injury all season, posted a career-high 18 kills on Oct. 13 as the Spartans beat Stetson in five games. The Beograd, Serbia, native, gave the Spartans a huge lift, as she hit .349 in the match and she added two straight kills in the fifth game to give Upstate a 10-7 lead. She has continued her hot stretch, posting six kills in just 13 attempts against Winston-Salem State on Friday and then tying her career-high with 18 kills against Gardner-Webb on Saturday. She has averaged 3.23 kills per game and hit .311 in the last three matches.
October-fest
After struggling to a 3-9 record in September, the USC Upstate volleyball team, which has two matches left in October, still has a chance to finish over .500 in the month for the first time at the DI level. Entering the week with a 3-3 mark in the month thanks to wins at Winston-Salem State and Stetson and at home against Winston-Salem State, the Spartans can finish over .500 in the month with wins at Campbell and at home against Savannah State.
The MEAC Daddy
With the 3-0 win over Winston-Salem State on Oct. 19, the Spartans improved to 5-0 on the season and 5-1 since joining the NCAA against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents. The Spartans have dropped just two games to MEAC schools this season, as they downed S.C. State, 3-1, on Sept. 15 and Hampton, 3-1, on Sept. 14. The team also swept S.C. State at home on Aug. 28 and Winston-Salem State on the road on Oct. 2. The Spartans, who have held MEAC schools to a paltry .107 hitting percentage, averaged 12.9 kills and 12.7 digs per game against the MEAC in 2007.
A Classy Bunch
While USC Upstate athletes have had a history of success in the classroom, there is no doubt that volleyball has been one of the most successful athletic programs in the classroom. All six returning athletes have GPAs above 3.0 and all six were recognized on the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll during the 2006 season. While juniors Jennifer Joraskie (graphic design major), Jenna Leslie (nursing major) and Holly Maudlin (physical education major) earned the award for the second time in their careers, sophomores Jesicah Ambrisco (elementary education major), Morgan Bucciferro (communications major) and Katie Downey (special education major) earned the honor for the first time.
Welcome to the Club
Head coach Jennifer Calloway entered the season as one of just two coaches in Division I with more than 200 wins at less than 35 years old, along with fellow Atlantic Sun Conference coach Deane Webb of Belmont. Calloway, who reaches the age where she can be elected President in January, became head coach at her alma mater at the age of 23 in 1996 after one year as a student assistant.
