FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu

Box Score (PDF)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team (10-13, 5-6 A-Sun) extended its Atlantic Sun Conference winning-streak to three matches, defeating ETSU (16-9, 7-4 A-Sun) 3-2 in the Hodge Center Friday night by scores of 16-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-27 and 15-10.

The Spartans' three-straight A-Sun victories mark the most consecutive wins for Upstate since joining the league in 2007. This marks the first win for the Spartans in five sets this season and also is the first time this year Upstate has come back to win after losing the first set.

"We expected to battle with a very tough ETSU team tonight," said Upstate head coach Jennifer Calloway. "I am proud to see our underclassmen mature along the way and our upperclassmen lead the way in the pressure situations. Our defense adjusted well during the match. We had some great blocks at crucial points of the contest and great support from players coming off the bench. Overall hustle and team play were key in tonight's victory."

Upstate struggled in the opening set, falling 25-16, but regrouped and claimed the second set in a convincing 25-17 fashion. Both teams went into the locker room at the intermission tied one set apiece. The Spartans kept the momentum in their direction at the start of the third set, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead after rattling off six-straight points while junior Amanda Carroll (Lake In The Hills, Ill.) served. On the night, Carroll ended up with two service aces and six digs for Upstate.

ETSU then called a timeout and regroup, helping the momentum swing the other direction. The Buccaneers chipped away at the deficit, pulling within one at the 13-12 mark. The team exchanged points for a while and eventually tied things up at 24-24. That's when Upstate called a timeout to refocus after two-straight points from ETSU. The huddle did the trick as the Spartans finished out the set with a 26-24 victory off of a kill by freshman Kayla Eversgerd (Breese, Ill.) and a service ace from freshman Lexi Gober (Edwardsville, Ill.).

The fourth set was close from start to finish as the teams exchanged points throughout the entire set. The Spartans knotted things up at 23-23 off of back-to-back service aces from Gober. ETSU called a timeout to settle down and answered back with a kill from Meredith Hardy to regain the lead 24-23. A kill from Upstate freshman Jaina Jackson (Huntley, Ill.) evened things out at 24-24. Hardy then responded with another kill, pushing the Buccaneers back in front 25-24. An ETSU attack error was the equalizer, setting the score at 25-25. A kill from ETSU's Megan Devine and an Upstate attack error, gave the Bucs the 27-25 set win.

With things tied up at two sets each, the match headed into the fifth game. The Buccaneers started off the final set strong with a 3-0 advantage, but a kill from Upstate senior Emily Bingham (St. Petersburg, Fla.) shifted the momentum. The Spartans strung together seven-straight points again with Carroll serving, taking a 7-3 lead. ETSU regrouped a little after two timeouts, but never seemed to fully recover as Upstate jumped to a 12-5 lead.

The Spartans called a time out after the Buccaneers rattled off two consecutive points, but ETSU responded with a kill from Devine. Eversgerd then registered another kill for Upstate, putting the score at 13-8. Devine helped ETSU hold off Upstate a little longer, recording another kill, but Eversgerd responded with another kill to give the Spartans a 14-9 advantage. Devine once again kept the Buccaneers hanging on, delivering yet again with a kill as the score moved to 14-10. The Spartans finished things off as a perfectly set ball from Gober met the swing of Bingham and then found the hardwood on the ETSU side of the net. Bingham's match-point kill gave Upstate the 15-10 fifth set win and the 3-2 overall victory.

"We just have to keep playing as hard as we're playing and stay focused on one game at a time," Bingham said. "We have an eventual goal, but to get there we just have to focus on each game before we can just move on and jump to any conclusions. We just have to win one game at a time."

Upstate was led on the night by a pair of double-doubles from Gober and Eversgerd. Gober handed out 52 assists and collected 13 digs, while recording six kills and four aces. Eversgerd tallied a team-high 18 kills on the night to go along with 15 digs, while sophomore Kayla McAvoy (Boiling Springs, S.C.) also registered 18 kills. McAvoy also led the Spartan defense at the net, posting six total blocks including two solo rejections.

Bingham helped the Upstate offense with 14 kills, while recording four digs and four assisted blocks. Jackson contributed eight kills, five digs and two solo denials for the Spartans.

Senior Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill.) anchored the Upstate defense scooping up a match-high and career-high 31 digs. Junior Morgan Page (Woodstock, Ga.) and Carroll helped with six digs apiece.

ETSU was led by Devine with a double-double, tallying a match-high 23 kills and 16 digs. Bethany Gesell and Hardy were second on the team with 15 kills each. Hardy added two aces, four digs and three total blocks, while Gesell had four digs and two blocks.

Jamie Rutledge quarterbacked the Buccaneer offense, dishing out a match-high 55 assists. She flirted with a double-double, gathering nine digs. Katie Muey posted a team-high 19 digs for ETSU and gave out five assists, while Ashleigh Shain recorded 10 digs.

The Spartans return to A-Sun action Oct. 26-27, traveling to Northern Kentucky and Lipscomb, respectively. Follow Upstate volleyball this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.