Oct. 31, 2008

Final Stats

Jacksonville, Fla. - Kelsie Queen led USC Upstate with six kills but the Spartans had difficulty putting together any consistent offensive threat as Jacksonville took a 3-0 sweep Friday night in A-Sun volleyball action. Jacksonville won by scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-16.

Upstate fell to 7-17 overall and 3-12 in the A-Sun. The Spartans will battle North Florida Saturday afternoon at 3:00 in Jacksonville. Jacksonville improved to 15-8 overall and 10-5 in the league. The Dolphins' 3-0 sweep of Upstate was the second time this season Jacksonville has swept Upstate, taking a 3-0 win over the Spartans on Sept. 30 in Spartanburg.

Upstate and Jacksonville battled early in the first game, trading points before the Dolphins opened a slim 6-4 lead. The Dolphins rattled off six straight points to open a 12-6 advantage and Upstate was not able to mount a comeback in the game.

Jacksonville won eight of the next 12 points to open a 20-10 lead and went on for the 25-12 victory in the first set. The Dolphins finished the game with a .355 hitting percentage, while holding Upstate to a .000 hitting percentage as the Spartans tallied just four kills with four errors on 30 attempts.

Upstate kept the second game close early on, falling behind by just one, 4-3. Jacksonville went on a 9-3 run to open a seven-point advantage, 13-6. Upstate battled back to cut the lead to four on three straight Dolphin errors, one service and two attack miscues. Upstate stayed in the game midway through the set, trailing by five, 15-10, after a Jovana Lubura (Belgrade, Serbia) kill.

Jacksonville increased the lead to seven, 21-14, to put enough distance between itself and Upstate as the Dolphins took the second set by a 25-18 score. The Spartans turned in an effective defense in holding Jacksonville to a .176 hitting percentage in the set. However, Upstate again struggled offensively to the tune of a .028 hitting percentage, spelling the difference in the game.

Holding a 2-0 lead heading into the third set, Jacksonville again found its stride to take the 25-16 win in the set to end the match. The game was a mirror image of the first two with Upstate battling to stay in the set early before falling behind by an insurmountable deficit midway through the game. The Spartans trailed by three, 12-9, before the Dolphins won seven of the next nine points to open a 19-11 lead and went on for the nine-point win in the frame.

Jacksonville put together another solid attacking game in game three, finishing the set with 15 kills with three errors on 35 total attempts for a .343 hitting percentage. The Dolphins also capitalized as Upstate struggled to a .000 hitting percentage in the set.

Sara Bendorf led all players with 17 kills and was the only player on the court from either team to finish in double figures for kills to lead Jacksonville. Shelley Walroth led all players with 17 digs, while Ashley August led the Dolphins with 19 assists.

Queen (Blythewood, S.C.) was the top offensive threat for the Spartans Friday night, finishing with six kills. Sandra Campbell (Orlando, Fla.) finished with four kills and three blocks. Holly Mauldin (Columbia, S.C.) led the way with 13 assists.