Box Score SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team (7-16, 2-7 A-Sun) dropped its fourth-straight Atlantic Sun Conference match today, falling 3-1 to Mercer (9-16, 2-6 A-Sun) in the Hodge Center.
The Spartans were led by a pair of double-doubles from juniors Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill.) and Mindy Quimby (Keenesburg, Colo.). Sanders registered her 11th double-double of the season with 45 assists and 20 digs, while Quimby recorded her fourth this year with 13 kills and 14 digs. The setter also led the team in hitting-percentage today with a .636 mark off of seven kills.
Senior Morgan Thomas (Plantation, Fla.) and junior Emily Bingham (St. Petersburg, Fla.) helped the Upstate offensive effort, tallying 18 and 10 kills, respectively. Defensively, sophomore Morgan Page (Woodstock, Ga.) posted a team-high 23 digs, while classmate Amanda Carroll (Lake In The Hills, Ill.) scooped up 19 digs.
Amiee Frutchey led the Bears with a double-double of 20 kills and 22 digs, while Jamie Duffy also had a double-double, recording 12 kills and 16 digs. Jennifer Katona added 12 kills for Mercer, while Madeline Dolny dished out 50 assists. Defensively, Charlotte Harris led the Bears with 23 digs, while Emily Rochefort chipped in 14 digs.
Mercer leads the overall series against Upstate 6-1, including a 3-1 record in the Hodge. Last time out, the Bears claimed a 3-1 victory at home Nov. 5, 2010.
Sanders is the A-Sun's active leader in career-assists with 2,229. She ranks sixth in Upstate history, passing Holly Mauldin's (2005-08) mark of 2,045. She is 49 assists away from Lisa Wilson's (1989-92) fifth-place notch of 2,278 and 50 assists shy of Morgan Bucciferro's (2006-09) fourth-place mark of 2,279.
Thomas broke into the school record books today, after recording two blocks to tie Trina Beaty's (1990-91) 10th-best mark of 302 career-blocks. She is seven rejections shy of Kendall Harper's (1998-01) ninth-place mark of 309. The senior ranks fifth all-time in career-block assists at Upstate with 232, just three shy of Harper's fourth-place mark of 235.
Upstate wraps up its four-match homestand at the Hodge Tuesday, Oct. 25, taking on Presbyterian at 7 p.m. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
