Box Score Box Score (.pdf)
DeLand, Fla. – Kayla Eversgerd and Lexi Gober each recorded their 15th double-doubles of the season, but USC Upstate dropped a 3-0 (24-26, 18-25, 18-25) decision to the Stetson Hatters Sunday afternoon inside the Edmunds Center.
The Spartans fall to 10-18 overall and 1-11 in the league, while Stetson improves its record to 16-10 on the season and 7-5 in conference play.
Eversgerd finished with a match-high 11 kills and led Upstate in digs at 16, while Gober compiled 30 assists and 10 digs. Kayla McAvoy just missed on a double-double as she contributed 10 kills and eight digs. Eversgerd and Gober were two of four Spartans to have 10 or more digs as Shannon Weiss recorded 13 and Kaleigh Kelley 12.
Madison Akins had a double-double for the Hatters as she finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. Alexa Drost led all players with 21 digs, while Kayla Weller added a double-double on 27 assists and 12 digs.
Upstate scored the first two points of the match and led 4-2 early as the Spartans capitalized on Dominique Arnold's service ace. Stetson then recorded the next three points to take its first lead of the set, leading to both teams exchanging the lead a few times over the next several plays. The Hatters would take their largest lead of the set at 14-11 when kills by Akins and McKenna Foster ended a string of three straight points. The Spartans responded with a 12-4 run to hold a 23-18 advantage capped off by four consecutive Stetson errors. The Hatters rallied after that as an 8-1 run gave them the 26-24 win in set one.
The teams traded the first 10 points of the second set before an attack error by Jessica Armstrong gave Upstate a 6-5 lead. The Spartans stretched their lead to three, 9-6, after a kill by Weiss, and later used another Armstrong error to make the score 12-8. Stetson came back midway in the set to tie the score at 15-15, and then posted a 6-1 run to take a 21-16 lead following a service ace by Foster. A block by Akins and Shelby Connors gave the Hatters the 25-18 set victory to push their lead to 2-0 in the match.
Stetson started the third set by scoring seven of the first nine points and led 10-4 on a kill from Erika White. The Spartans forced the Hatters into a timeout after two errors, a kill by McAvoy and service ace from Weiss cut Upstate's deficit down to 10-8. Stetson came back by scoring the next five points to extend its lead out to 15-8, but the Spartans got back to within three, 15-12, a few plays later after Eversgerd's kill. The Hatters held off the Upstate rally and improved their cushion to six twice, with the last coming at 23-17 on Weller's kill. Stetson won the third set by an identical 25-18 score behind Armstrong's kill for a 3-0 match victory.
The Spartans conclude their regular season next weekend (Nov. 14-15) when they make the trip north to take on Lipscomb and Northern Kentucky.
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