SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team (3-8) swept Western Carolina (5-9) 3-0 (25-22, 25-17 and 25-20) today at the Quality Inn & Suites Spartan Classic, marking the first win for the squad in the Hodge Center since the 2009 season, when the facility was undergoing renovations.

The Spartans were led with a pair of double-doubles from juniors Emily Sanders and Emily Bingham. Sanders registered her fourth double-double of the season, dishing out 31 assists and collecting 11 digs, while Bingham tallied her first double-double as a Spartan with 10 kills and 12 digs.  

Upstate senior Morgan Thomas, who was named to the Quality Inn & Suites Spartan Classic all-tournament team, posted a team-high 13 kills to go along with three digs, one block and one assist. Senior Kelsie Queen registered seven kills and added 10 digs, while sophomore Morgan Page led the Spartans with 15 digs.

"It was a great win today," said Upstate head coach Jennifer Calloway. "We'd like to thank the fans that came out to give the team such an electric atmosphere to play in. The video crew did a great job this weekend, making the team's video intro top notch. Above all we'd like to thank Mrs. Anderson for her sincere generosity to our athletic program, providing the state of the art facility we now can call home. Aside from the video crew, the stat crew and everyone else behind the scenes were instrumental in helping us host a great tournament."

The Catamounts were led by Caitlin Piechota's double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs. Jordan Timmermann recorded a team-high 12 digs to go along with nine kills. Brittany Lysik totaled 29 assists for Western Carolina.  

The Catamounts lead the all-time series against Upstate 7-4. Earlier this season, the Spartans beat Western Carolina 3-0 at Virginia's Marriott Cavalier Classic Aug. 26.

Earlier today, Charleston Southern (3-11) edged Gardner-Webb (2-10) 3-2, while Gardner-Webb swept Wofford (10-4) 3-0 and Western Carolina defeated Charleston Southern 3-0. Every team participating in the tournament was represented on the Quality Inn & Suites Spartan Classic all-tournament team. The all-tournament team selections were Upstate's Thomas, Charleston Southern's Sydney Tracy, Western Carolina's Carrie Minogue, Gardner-Webb's Evan Moffitt and Wofford's Rachel Woodlee.

Upstate is back in action Sept. 20, traveling to Johnson City, Tenn., to open Atlantic Sun Conference play at ETSU. Follow the Spartans this season on Facebook and Twitter.