S.C. State Box Score (.pdf)
Charleston Southern Box Score (.pdf)
N. Charleston, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team wrapped up play at the Wingate Invitational in style Saturday as the Spartans defeated South Carolina State and Charleston Southern by identical 3-1 scores inside Buccaneer Fieldhouse.
Upstate finished the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record and improved to 6-4 on the season after extending its winning streak to four matches. The Spartans stay in town next weekend for The Spartanburg Courtyard Classic hosted by Wofford.
Upstate vs. South Carolina State
USC Upstate began the day by defeating S.C. State by scores of 18-25, 25-11, 25-16 and 25-21.
Despite falling behind after the opening set, Upstate captured the final three en route to the 3-1 win. Kayla McAvoy led the Spartans with a career-high 17 kills, while Lexi Gober and Shannon Weiss each had double-doubles. Gober recorded 42 assists and 11 digs, and Weiss posted 12 kills and 13 digs. Dominique Arnold and Kaleigh Kelley both had 12 digs; for Arnold it was a new career-high for her.
South Carolina State opened the first set on a 10-4 run after a kill from Erica Pritchett. Upstate was able to cut the deficit down to three, and later tied the score at 16-16 following Pritchett's attack error. The Lady Bulldogs answered with five straight points to lead 21-16 on an attack error by Arnold. South Carolina State used that run to limit the Spartans to two points the rest of the way to win the set 25-18.
Upstate responded in the second set by cruising to a 25-11 victory to even the match at 1-1. The Spartans held a three point cushion throughout the opening stanza and led 10-7 on a kill by Weiss. That would be as close as the Lady Bulldogs got in the second set as Upstate's defense held them to just four points after that highlighted by an 11-3 run. USC Upstate scored the set's final four points capped off by a service ace from Alexa Lagaly.
Two kills from McAvoy and a service ace by Arnold helped the Spartans run out to a 5-2 lead to begin the third set. Upstate stayed ahead by three until, leading 8-5, went on a 9-5 run to extend its lead to 17-10 following a kill by McAvoy. The Spartans cruised from there as they stretched their lead to nine three times to end the set as Upstate took the frame 25-16 after an attack error by SCSU's Marissa Lawrence.
The Spartans scored nine of the first 12 points in the fourth set including five straight behind the serving of Arnold. Trailing 10-3 midway through the set, South Carolina State rallied to trail by one at 13-12, but Upstate picked up the next two points. Kirby Anderson tied the set 15-15 for South Carolina State and later fought back from three down to take a 19-18 lead on a service ace. The Spartans responded to end the set on a 7-2 run with Lagaly compiling two kills. An attack error by Shandice Sluch gave Upstate the 25-21 win, and a 3-1 match triumph.
Upstate at Charleston Southern
USC Upstate followed the victory over SCSU with another 3-1 victory, this time over host Charleston Southern on set scores of 25-14, 25-22, 21-25 and 25-22.
Charleston Southern scored the opening three points of the first set and held a 5-2 lead before the Spartans rallied. Upstate recorded eight points in a row to take a 10-5 lead behind the serve of McAvoy, with Lagaly and Emily Koelling tallying two kills each. The Buccaneers managed to get to within 13-10 on a Kelley service error, but the Spartans responded with four straight points to extend their lead to seven. Upstate outscored Charleston Southern 8-4 the rest of the way to take set one in comfortable fashion 25-14.
The second set was close the entire way with neither team leading by more than four. The first 16 points featured five ties with the Spartans holding the largest lead of 7-5 after a kill by Lagaly. The Buccaneers answered to take a 12-10 lead, but Upstate used a 6-0 run to go ahead 16-12 capped off by a kill from Gober. Charleston Southern was able to trim its deficit down to 18-17 only to see the Spartans hold them off and sit at set point on Weiss' kill. Upstate took the set 25-22 courtesy of a CSU attack error, lengthening its lead in the match to 2-0.
The Buccaneers came back in the third set to win 25-21 and cut the Spartans overall lead to 2-1. Charleston Southern used a fast start to go in front of Upstate with Siraya Windsor giving CSU a 6-2 lead. The Buccaneers led by four a majority of the set and increased their advantage to six, 19-13, following an attack error by Koelling. The Spartans made a late run at Charleston Southern when McAvoy made the score 24-21, but the Buccaneers won by four on a kill from Windsor.
The teams split the opening eight points of the fourth set as a McAvoy service error evened the score at 4-4. Upstate trailed twice to start the set, but did not the rest of the way after a Meredith Parrott service error gave it a 5-4 lead. The Spartans extended their lead to 13-8 on a service ace by Weiss, but Charleston Southern managed to cut that advantage to 14-13 with three straight kills. Upstate responded with a 5-1 run to lead by five, 19-14, but CSU rallied to tie the set 19-19. After Charleston Southern made it 20-20, the Spartans picked up the next four points with Weiss registering three kills. Upstate held off a late Buccaneer charge to win 25-22, and take the match 3-1.
Weiss and Gober added their second double-doubles of day while four Spartans finished with 10 or more kills. Weiss had a team-high 14 kills and 15 digs, and Gober contributed 43 assists and 10 digs. Lagaly also collected a double-double on 13 digs and 10 kills. Koelling and McAvoy concluded the match with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
Weiss, McAvoy Selected to Wingate Invitational All-Tournament Team
Weiss and McAvoy were awarded for their efforts this weekend by being named as Upstate's representatives on the Wingate Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Weiss led the Spartans with 35 kills to go with 37 digs and six service aces. She tallied two double-doubles, and averaged 3.18 kills and 3.36 digs per set.
McAvoy finished just behind Weiss with 33 kills while adding 10 digs, four service aces and three total blocks. She averaged three kills per set and had 10 or more kills in two of the three matches.
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