Upstate Returns Home To The Hodge For Three-Match Homestand
10/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2008
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After two weeks and three matches on the road, the USC Upstate volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of the G.B. Hodge Center this week, as it begins the home stretch of its schedule with seven of its final nine regular-season matches in venerable arena. The stretch starts on Tuesday night as Upstate hosts The Citadel in a renewal of a rivalry begun in 1998 before Upstate hosts both Stetson on Friday and Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday in Atlantic Sun Conference matches. Friday's match against Stetson is Upstate's Dig for the Cure fundraiser for Komen For The Cure.
Dig For The Cure: The Spartans have designated their home match on Friday, Oct. 24 against Stetson as USC Upstate's "Dig for the Cure" match. Individual sponsors can pledge money per Spartan kill, block, assist, service ace and dig or they can make a flat donation for the Upstate chapter of Komen For The Cure.
Triple Double-Double Threat
Seniors Holly Mauldin and Jovana Lubura and junior Morgan Bucciferro each posted double-doubles on Saturday at Mercer to mark the first time in the Upstate Division I era that three players posted double-doubles in a match. Not only was it the first time this season, it also marked just the fourth time in the Division I era that two or more players posted double-doubles in the same match.
Mauldin finished with 20 assists and 10 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Lubura added team-highs of 14 kills and 14 digs for her third double-double of the season and second in as many meetings with Mercer. Bucciferro added 11 assists and a season-high 11 digs. The last time that two players had double-doubles in the same match was Nov. 2, 2007 against Mercer when Bucciferro posted 36 assists and 14 digs and Sandra Campbell added 17 kills and 10 blocks.
Back-To-Back
Sophomore Sandra Campbell has reached a couple USC Upstate Division I era firsts in the past two weeks. She became the first player in the DI era to reach 400 career kills with her first against Campbell on Oct. 9 and then became the first player to record back-to-back 200-kill seasons with her third kill at Mercer on Oct. 18.
Lubura's Luck
Senior Jovana Lubura has led the Spartans through the Atlantic Sun Conference schedule, posting 3.07 kills per set, seventh in league play, and adding 2.42 digs per set, which is second on the team. In the past three weeks, Lubura has averaged a double-double per match, posting an average of 12 kills and 11.4 digs. In that time, she has posted two double-doubles, with both coming against Mercer, notching 13 kills and 19 digs at home on Oct. 5 and 14 kills and 14 digs on the road on Oct. 18.
Youth Movement
The three USC Upstate freshman have had an immediate impact on the team this season, with all three appearing in at least 63 of the team's 71 sets so far. Jane Hawryliw is averaging 1.02 kills per set and also adds 1.48 digs per set. The Sasketchewan native posted a match-high 14 kills in Upstate's 3-0 win over Hampton on Sept. 5. Morgan Thomas, a middle blocker, is averaging 1.56 kills and a team-high 0.69 blocks per set. Thomas notched a career-high six blocks, including three solo rejections, at Campbell on Oct. 9. Kelsie Queen is averaging 1.54 kills and 1.00 digs per set. Queen tied a career-high with nine kills at Mercer on Oct. 18, also adding seven digs in the match.
