Spartans Fall In Three To Belmont
10/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Kayla Albritton and Maggie Johnson each posted double figures in kills to lead Belmont to a three-game sweep of USC Upstate in A-Sun volleyball action Friday night, taking the win by scores of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-23.
Belmont improved to 8-12 overall and 2-1 in the A-Sun with the win, while Upstate fell to 6-11 overall and 1-2 in the league. The Spartans play host to Lipscomb tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 in another A-Sun tilt at Converse College, while the Bruins travel to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on ETSU tomorrow afternoon.
Game one was a tight battle until Belmont scored four-straight points midway through the set to open an 18-14 lead. Upstate battled back to get within two, 20-18, but a small 3-0 run by the Bruins spelled the difference as Belmont took the 25-20 win. Johnson and Albritton each had four kills to lead the Bruins in the set.
Johnson stayed solid in the second set and tallied six kills to lead Belmont to the 25-17 win. Again, the action was tight until a Bruins run late in the frame secured the win. With Upstate trailing 17-14, Belmont outscored the Spartans 8-3 the rest of the way to take the win. The Bruins ran off five-straight points on Albritton's serve to open a 22-14 lead and went on for the win. Belmont hit at a strong .480 hitting percentage in the set.
Just as sets one and two were close battles, set three was just as intense. Although freshman Cori Harris (Champaign, Ill.) recorded four kills in the frame, Upstate lost a tough battle, 25-23. Albritton posted eight kills in the set to lead the Bruins attack. With the set tied at 10-10, Belmont scored five of the next seven points to take a 15-12 lead. Upstate fought back to get within one, 17-16, and tied the game at 20-20.
The teams continued to battle back and forth and with the set tied at 22-22, Belmont got a service error from Upstate and back-to-back kills from Albritton and Jen Myer to rattle off three-straight points to end the game and the match.
Belmont finished the match with 45 kills on 12 errors and 97 total attacks for a .340 hitting percentage. Upstate totaled 31 kills on 12 errors and 87 total attacks (.218). Jamie Lundstrom led Belmont with 12 digs, while Hannah Miranda totaled a match-high 34 assists.
Harris led the Upstate attack with eight kills and two aces. Morgan Thomas (Plantation, Fla.) totaled seven kills. Emily Snaders (Sullivan, Ill.) led Upstate with 26 assists and nine digs.
