Make It Two! Upstate Finds Another W Against Stetson
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In its second match against Stetson in as many days, the USC Upstate women's volleyball team recorded another tally in the win column, taking down the Stetson Hatters, 3-1 (25-13, 24-26, 25-16, 26-24).
Upstate (4-7, 1-0) was led by four Spartans who found double digit kills. Morgan Thomas picked up 18 kills while Cori Harris found 14, Kelsie Queen found 13 and Katie Downey notched 12. Also doing some serious work for the Spartans with her 11th double-double on the season was Emily Sanders, 56 assists and 17 digs.
Stetson, (1-11, 0-1) was paced by Kaley Melvile and Kaite DiGirolamo with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Defensively, Melville had 16 digs, Kelli Carneal had 15 and Kaylee Ream and Monique Russell had 14 apiece.
In its opening set, the Spartans led 2-0 following back-to-back Thomas kills. Following Thomas' lead, Upstate continued to pace the first set, never trailing and closed the Hatters out, nearly doubling Stetson's points, 25-13.
The Hatters would open the second set on a Worlton kill and pursue a back-and-forth affair with the Spartans throughout the remainder of the set, tying the game up on nine occasions. With the second set tied at 23 apiece, it was Stetson's Melville who pulled out the guns, finding the floor on consecutive kills to take the second, 26-24.
Determined to come out on top of the Hatters in the third set, Upstate took the court on a 7-2 push that featured Quimby, Downey and Queen. Once again, the Spartans refused to relinquish their lead and found a 7-3 push to come ahead, 2-1 in the game with a nine point lead at the close of the third set, 25-16.
The Hatters had a chance to draw even with the Spartans, 2-2 on the match during the fourth set , as once again Stetson and Upstate found themselves in a tight battle tied at 23 apiece. This time it was Downey who sealed the deal, bringing home Upstate's second straight win over the Hatters on a pair of kills, 26-24.
Upstate will compete in the Wofford Tournament again, tonight at 7 p.m., against neighboring rival and host, the Wofford Terriers. On Saturday, Upstate will finish out its remaining time at the tournament when the Spartans match up against the Cougars of SIU-Edwardsville at 3 p.m.
