Box Score Box Score (.pdf)
Spartanburg, S.C. – Lexi Gober, Kayla McAvoy and Kayla Eversgerd each finished with double-doubles Friday evening as USC Upstate picked up its first A-Sun victory after defeating the North Florida Ospreys 3-2 in volleyball action from the Hodge Center.
The Spartans improve to 10-15 overall and 1-8 in the league, while the Ospreys fall to 10-15 on the season and 3-6 in conference play.
McAvoy collected a match-high 14 kills to go with 11 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Gober added 50 assists and 12 digs for her 13th double-double of the year, while Eversgerd also tallied her 13th double-double after finishing with 12 kills and 14 digs. Alexa Lagaly poured in 13 kills and was joined in double-digits by Emily Koelling with 10. Shannon Weiss also had 14 digs to join Eversgerd for the team-lead.
Morgan Van Alstine was one of three North Florida players to finish with double-figure kills as she had 13. Tessa Alyman and Carina Hoff contributed 11 and 10 kills, respectively, and Abby Fesl dished out 48 assists. Cari Whitmire led all players with 24 digs.
The first set featured 11 ties as neither team led by more than four to begin the match. Upstate grabbed an early 4-2 lead as McAvoy recorded one of her two service aces on the evening, and the Spartans later pushed their lead to 8-4 on a kill from Lagaly. North Florida managed to cut their deficit down to one twice before Alyman made it 12-12 with her kill. The teams traded the lead twice over the next four plays before Upstate went ahead 16-14 on back-to-back kills by Weiss. A ball-handling error by McAvoy allowed the Ospreys to tie the score again at 18-18. The lead exchanged hands five times late in the set until an Erin Edwards kill made the score 23-23. The Ospreys scored the next two points to win the first set 25-23.
The Spartans answered back in the second set to win 25-17 and even the match at one set apiece. Behind the serving of Shearer, Upstate recorded the first five points to lead 5-0 capped off by a combination block by McAvoy and Eversgerd. North Florida was able to trim the Spartan lead to 8-5, but Upstate responded with four straight points to drive its lead out to seven. The Ospreys were only able to get as close as four after that with the Spartans scoring six of the final nine points to take the set by eight.
Upstate put together another solid set in the third as it led the entire way en route to a 25-19 victory, increasing its lead to 2-1 in the match. The Spartans began the frame taking eight of the first 12 points as a kill by Weiss made it 8-4. North Florida was then forced to use a timeout as two straight errors gave Upstate an 11-5 cushion. The Ospreys got to within four, 17-13, on Van Alstine's kill, only to see the Spartans score the next three to extend their lead to 20-13 as Weiss and Eversgerd teamed up for a block. A service error by Carinne Turner gave Upstate the six-point set win.
The Spartans split the initial 10 points of the fourth set with North Florida as an attack error by Weiss made the score 5-5. The Ospreys then picked up the next five points with the last two coming on kills by Alyman. Upstate fought back to get to within one at 13-12 on Fesl's service error, but North Florida followed with a quick 4-1 run to lengthen its lead to 17-13. The Spartans took advantage of three consecutive Osprey attack errors to trim their deficit down to one. Upstate would not get any closer as Van Alstine gave North Florida the 25-21 victory to take the match into a fifth set.
The deciding set was a back-and-forth encounter as the lead changed hands a total of seven times. The Spartans held the lead early with Eversgerd giving the home team a 4-3 advantage after her kill. The Ospreys took the lead back several plays later as Fesl put them in front 8-6, but Upstate rallied with three straight points to go ahead 9-8. Over the course of the next 10 plays, the score was tied four times with the Spartans holding the lead once during that stretch. North Florida was sitting on match point twice after that, but Upstate would not be denied either time. A kill by Koelling sparked the late run for the Spartans as an attack error by Madison Hatcher and Lagaly's kill gave Upstate the thrilling 17-15 victory, and the match at 3-2.
The Spartans host Jacksonville in their home finale tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.
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