Thomas, Sanders Lead Spartans To Upset Of Terriers, 3-1
9/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2009
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - An electric atmosphere on Tuesday night at the Hodge Center served as the catalyst and the USC Upstate volleyball team finally exploded, drilling 57 kills and pounding out 10 service aces to lead to a magical upset win over crosstown rival, Wofford, 3-1 (25-14, 14-25, 25-17, 30-28), during Upstate's Dig Pink Rally for The Side-Out Foundation.
"I'm really excited for our team," Upstate head coach Jennifer Calloway said. "They really showed some guts. We needed a win and now, we can just carry on with the rest of our season. Now that it's behind us, now they know and they'll believe."
A crowd of 672 fans did not go home disappointed as Upstate (4-12 overall) played inspired from the first set on, notching 15 or more kills in three of the four sets. The Spartans fed off several solid performances with sophomore Morgan Thomas (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) finishing with 16 kills and hitting .433. Freshman Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan) added her sixth double-double of the year with 20 assists and 13 digs.
"The fans were great," Calloway said. "The place was loud. Having some cheers and support, with as competitive as our team is, they needed that. They fed off that. I thought it was great how they came out and participated with our team."
Wofford fell to 14-4 overall.
Also being fueled by the fans were the freshman duo of Paige Weiland (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) and Mindy Quimby (Keenesburg, Colo./Weld Central), who finished with nine kills and nine digs and eight kills and eight digs, respectively. Junior Erin Jacobsen (Virginia, Minn./Iowa Lakes C.C.) finished with seven kills and four blocks.
"The atmosphere was amazing," Sanders said. "The fans were up on their feet cheering. We relied on them so much. It was just awesome."
The Spartans rallied late in the fourth set after falling behind 20-15. Weiland started the rally with a kill and then served up an ace to cut the lead to three. A block by Quimby and Thomas and a bad set by Wofford cut the lead to one and Upstate stayed within two points until a Quimby kill tied the set at 24. The Spartans couldn't convert their first two match points and a third Wofford set point was spoiled by a kill from Thomas that tied the set at 28.
"We really believed in each other," Sanders said. "Every ball was up. I believed in the person passing the ball to me and I believed in the person I was setting up was going to get it down."
Junior Megan Healey (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy), who notched a season-high five aces, ended the set on serve after a Wofford attack error with her final ace, giving Upstate a 30-28 win.
"We played as a team," Thomas said. "We've been working so hard to get a fresh start. This will definitely be good for us and it's an awesome win."
The Spartans came out blistering hot, hitting .500 with 17 kills en route to the 25-14 win. Sophomores Morgan Thomas (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Kelsie Queen (Blythewood, S.C./Ridge View) each posted six kills in the set and freshman Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan) contributed seven assists and eight digs alone in the set.
The Spartans took an 11-3 lead in the first set, thanks to two sneak-attach kills from Bucciferro and the Spartan lead grew to 21-11 en route to the 25-14 win.
After dropping the second set, 25-14, the Spartans came out of the intermission strong, with Weiland, Healey and Sanders posting service aces en route to a 10-5 lead. The Spartan lead dropped to three points, but Upstate scored the next three points as Quimby and Weiland posted kills before Jacobsen and junior Katie Downey (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) notched a block. The Spartans controlled from there, never letting Wofford back within five points, taking the set, 25-17.
Stacy Byrd posted 14 kills and 10 blocks and Joanna Suddath notched 34 assists and six digs to lead the Terriers. Shanna Hughes added nine kills, four aces and 14 digs and Rachel Woodlee notched four blocks.
Upstate will get back into Atlantic Sun Conference action on Friday when the Spartans host Stetson at 7 p.m. in the Hodge Center.
