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

Box Score (PDF)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team (11-15, 6-8 A-Sun) swept Atlantic Sun Conference opponent Stetson (4-28, 0-15 A-Sun) 3-0 inside the Hodge Center Friday for Faculty Appreciation Night by scores of 25-11, 25-11 and 25-20.

Senior Emily Bingham (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tallied a match-high 11 kills, while sophomore Kayla McAvoy (Boiling Springs, S.C.) was second for Upstate with 10 kills. Bingham has recorded double-digit kills 10 times this season, while McAvoy has posted double-figure kills 18 times. Bingham also posted five digs for the Spartans to go along with a match-high three service aces.

"It's really big to get a win like this," McAvoy said. "We're taking one day at a time and it was really exciting to beat them 3-0. Now we're ready for tomorrow."

The outside hitter and middle blocker also made a dynamic duo defensively at the net, shutting down the Stetson offense. Bingham recorded five assisted blocks on the night, while McAvoy registered a career-high seven total rejections.

"If felt good to get some kills again," Bingham said. "We were connecting with our setter tonight and that's always really nice. We can't do without our passing though and our digs were really good. Me and the middles worked really well together tonight. We were talking a lot and communicating about where the hitters were. We put up a nice solid block and it paid off."

Upstate freshman Lexi Gober (Edwardsville, Ill.) flirted with a double-double, handing out a match-high 25 assists and collecting nine digs. She also posted six kills and two service aces. Senior Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill.) paced the Spartans, scooping up 15 digs. Freshman Shannon Weiss (Highland, Ill.) helped the Upstate defense with nine digs, while junior Morgan Page (Woodstock, Ga.) gathered seven digs. Freshman Kayla Eversgerd (Breese, Ill.) and senior Mindy Quimby (Keenesburg, Colo.) each recorded five digs.

Stetson was led by Cailyn Prewitt with six kills, while Kaley Melville was second with four kills. Melville paced the squad with a match-high 15 digs, while Monique Russell was second on the team with 13 digs. Kelli Carneal helped the Hatters, dishing out eight assists to go along with five digs, while Kayla Weller recorded six digs.

The Spartans return to action Saturday, hosting Florida Gulf Coast at 3 p.m. in the Hodge Center. Follow Upstate volleyball this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.