Spartans Fall To Cougars In Last Day Of Tourney
9/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate's volleyball squad closed out competition at the Wofford Tournament against the Cougars of SIU-Edwardsville in a thrilling four-set match Saturday afternoon. The Spartans fought tough and found a win in set two before falling to the Cougars, 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 22-25, 17-25).
Upstate (5-9) was led by Cori Harris who exploded with 21 kills and found 13 digs. Also helping out the Spartans were Morgan Thomas with 11 kills and Amanda Carroll who saw action against the Cougars with 17 assists.
SIU-Edwardsville (6-5) saw double digit kills from Sydney Winslow, Lexi Cibulka and Julia Whitfield to the tune of 15, 12 and 11, respectively. Additionally, Sammi Minton put up 49 helpers and Jessica Hemann found the floor on eight kills.
A kill from Harris got the game going for Upstate, who would lead through 27 points before the Cougars could tie it up at 14 apiece. SIUE first tasted the lead at 16-15 following an ace from Winslow and were able to stretch the cushion to as many as three points on two occasions before the Spartans rallied back to tie it up at 21. SIUE was the last one to have a say in the first set, closing it out 25-21 on back-to-back Cibulka aces.
Upstate opened the second set up 1-0 with another kill by Harris, and took 12 of the next 17 points to lead the Cougars, 13-5. Determined to turn their one set lead into a pair, the Cougars clawed their way back to a 15-20 deficit but Upstate had the juice to close it out, with a kill by Downey and an ace by Healey, 25-16.
With both teams determined to turn their one set win into a pair, Upstate and SIUE seesawed with the score through 16-16 and kept continued to keep it close with the Cougars up 24-22. Although Upstate kept tough through the entire third, it was SIUE who put it away on a Whitfield kill, 25-22.
SIUE put away the first point of the fourth set with a Minton, Hemann combination but Upstate was right there with them, answering the point with a Harris kill. The Spartans and the Cougars continued to keep it interesting with seven points each before SIUE rallied on a 15-5 spree to take the cushion and ultimately find the win, 25,17.
Upstate will compete again on Wednesday in Culowhee, N.C. against the Western Carolina Catamounts (5-8) at the Ramsey Center with a game time set for 7 p.m.
