Box Score Box Score (.pdf)
Jacksonville, Fla. – Kayla Eversgerd, Shannon Weiss and Lexi Gober each set new career-highs Saturday afternoon as the USC Upstate volleyball team suffered a 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 14-16) setback against the North Florida Ospreys in conference action inside UNF Arena.
The Spartans fall to 9-14 on the season and 0-7 in league play, while the Ospreys improve to 8-14 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
Eversgerd had a career-best 34 digs and was one of three Upstate players to record double-doubles as she added 20 kills, falling just one shy of tying her career-high in that category. It is the 11th double-double of the season for Eversgerd. Shannon Weiss added her eighth double-double of the year with a career-best 15 kills to go with 19 digs. Lexi Gober also set a new career-high with 24 digs while dishing out 51 assists for her 12th double-double this season. Rebecca Shearer also posted 12 digs and Kayla McAvoy contributed 10 kills.
Cameron McGuire led the North Florida offense with 15 kills, and Courtney Miller and Tessa Alyman had 13 and 11, respectively. Abby Fesl and Carinne Turner combined for 59 assists as Fesl contributed 35 and Turner 24. Cari Whitmire had a team-high 32 digs for the Ospreys.
The first 18 points of the opening set featured nine ties as Weiss evened the score 9-9 with a kill. North Florida then scored the next three points to take a 12-9 lead, and later stretched it to 15-11 following an attack error by Dominique Arnold. The Spartans cut the deficit down to four, 18-14, on Fesl's service error. UNF responded with two kills in a row by McGuire and Morgan Van Alstine to extend its lead to 20-14. Arnold got Upstate to within three at 22-19 with back-to-back kills, but North Florida held the Spartans to one point after that and took the set 25-20 on a kill by Erin Edwards.
Upstate answered back in the second set to win 25-19 and even the match at 1-1. Weiss, Eversgerd, Gober and Emily Koelling each had kills to start the set as the Spartans raced out to a 7-3 lead. Upstate led the entire way after that as the Ospreys managed to only get to within two several times throughout the frame. The Spartans were able to extend their lead to four two times midway with the last coming at 19-15 on McGuire's attack error. After Edwards cut Upstate's lead to 22-19, the Spartans scored the final three points as Alexa Lagaly's kill gave them the six-point victory.
The third set required extra points as neither team held a lead of more than three throughout as Eversgerd equaled the score early, 7-7, with her kill. Upstate then went on a 6-3 run as a service ace by Koelling pushed its lead to 13-10. UNF responded with five consecutive points as two Spartan errors gave it a 15-13 lead. The Spartans took the lead back several plays later as McAvoy and Eversgerd teamed up for kills to put them in front 18-16. North Florida tied the score twice before using an Upstate error to take a 22-20 lead. Facing set point at 24-22, the Spartans picked up the next two points as Courtney Miller's error made it 24-24. Miller and Alyman scored the ensuing two points for UNF to win the set 26-24.
Upstate forced a fifth, and deciding, set as it went into extra points again in the fourth stanza to win 27-25. The fourth set began in similar fashion as the previous three with the first 18 points being split evenly by the teams. The Spartans then recorded the next two points to lead 11-9 after Gober and McAvoy teamed up for a block. Upstate would extend its lead to 15-12 on another combination block by Koelling and Eversgerd, only to see UNF later take the lead back at 17-16 on a kill by Carina Hoff. Down four late in the set, the Spartans rallied to tie the score as Kaleigh Kelley's service ace made the score 21-21. Upstate again faced set point with UNF leading 24-23, but responded by taking the next two points to lead by one. The Spartans captured the set by winning the last two plays on kills from Eversgerd and Weiss.
The Ospreys notched 10 of the first 13 points of the fifth set to lead 10-3 after a block by Edwards and Alyman. Upstate fought back with a 10-3 run of its own capped off by Eversgerd's kill to make it 13-13. The teams exchanged the next two points before UNF picked up the last two to win the set 16-14, and match 3-2.
The Spartans travel to Kennesaw State next Saturday, Oct. 25 for a 3 p.m. match against the Owls.
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