Sept. 27, 2008

Final Stats

DeLAND, Fla. - One of the finest defensive efforts of the season propelled the USC Upstate volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17) win over Stetson, as the Spartans posted 58 digs and allowed just 24 kills in 99 Hatters' opportunities to lead to the Spartans' first Atlantic Sun Conference sweep of the year at the Edmunds Center on Saturday.

Upstate improves to 5-10 overall and 2-5 in the A-Sun while Stetson falls to 2-11 overall and 0-6 in the conference.

Senior Holly Mauldin (Columbia, S.C./Irmo) had one of the finest matches of her career, as she posted a career-high 41 assists to go with a career-high five kills and she also added 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. She also passed the 1,500 career-assist mark in the match, becoming the seventh player in school history to do so. For good measure, Mauldin also added her second career solo block.

"Coming into today, we had it in our minds that we were going to win," Mauldin said. "We played out of our minds. The defense was really good. We hardly let anything drop on the floor. Our defense picked up 100 percent today."

The defense also got double-digit kill efforts from both sophomore Megan Healey (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy), who provided 18 digs, and freshman Jane Hawryliw (North Battleford, Sasketchewan/North Battleford), who added a career-high 10 digs to go with seven kills.

"Defensively and on serve and receive, we've really been working on it," Healey said. "We've been focusing on doing on our own jobs and playing defense. It's almost been like a domino effect, if one person plays well, then the next person plays well."

The offense, meanwhile was led by solid hitting days from both senior Jovana Lubura (Belgrade, Serbia/New Mexico Military Institute) and sophomore Sandra Campbell (Orlando, Fla./Pilot Point (Texas)). Lubura hit .342 while posting a match-high 16 kills, also adding eight digs and three service aces and Campbell hit .364 with 13 kills, adding a block. Freshman Morgan Thomas (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) also added nine kills.

The Spartans took control of the first set by scoring three straight points after being down 13-12. Two kills from Lubura helped the Spartans take control, then a kill from freshman Kelsie Queen (Blythewood, S.C./Ridge View) extended the lead to three at 17-14. The Hatters kept the match in range, closing within two at 21-19, but a kill from Lubura and two from Thomas helped the Spartans close the set on a 4-0 run.

"We finally played well as a team," Lubura said of the first set. "Those last three balls, we just wanted to finish up the set. We knew we were going to win the set and we just wanted to win in three. It was about finishing up today."

The Spartans rolled out to an 11-7 lead in the second set thanks to back-to-back kills from Campbell. A 3-0 run thanks to kills from Mauldin and Thomas helped the Spartans to a 15-9 lead. From there, the Spartans never let the Hatters closer than three points and a kill from Campbell closed the set for a 25-21 win.

After the break, Upstate again was able to jump out in the third set. With the score 8-7 in Usptate's favor, the Spartans scored four straight points thanks to kills from Mauldin, Campbell and Lubura. The Spartans extended the lead to 21-12 thanks to kills from Hawryliw and Mauldin. The Hatters closed within seven points, but a kill from Lubura ended the match.

Stephanie Canfield led the Hatters with five kills. Melanie Boyer added 11 digs and Jennica Hagberg posted 19 assists and eight digs. Laura Boyd added a match-high five blocks.

"We're going to use today as a turning point for us," Healey said. "From here on out, we're going to play with our level of intensity and the way we know we can play."

Upstate gets back into action next weekend when it welcomes the A-Sun's Georgia teams to the Hodge Center, hosting Kennesaw State at 3 p.m. on Saturday before Mercer comes to Spartanburg for a 5 p.m. Sunday match.