Gardner-Webb Box Score (.pdf)
Wofford Box Score (.pdf)
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team began The Spartanburg Courtyard Classic Friday afternoon by falling in three sets to Gardner-Webb, but rallied later in the evening to defeat host Wofford in a thrilling five-set match inside Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Upstate now sits at 7-5 on the season as it returns to action tomorrow with two matches starting at 10 a.m. against Tennessee Tech. The Spartans then take on North Carolina A&T at 5 p.m.
USC Upstate fell to Gardner-Webb by scores of 23-25, 23-25 and 18-25 in the first match of the day. The Spartans were then victorious over Wofford 21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-12.
Upstate vs. Gardner-Webb
Upstate saw its four-match winning streak come to an end with the 3-0 defeat against Gardner-Webb to start The Spartanburg Courtyard Classic.
The Runnin' Bulldogs recorded 11 of the opening 14 points to lead 11-3 after receiving a combination block from Brianna Starr and Tyler Cockrell. The Spartans rallied with a 7-3 run to trim their deficit to 14-10, but Gardner-Webb answered to stretch its advantage back to six at 17-11. Upstate came back to get to within one four separate times, with the last coming at 24-23 on a Shannon Weiss kill. The Runnin' Bulldogs took the set the following play with Tyra Montour's kill to give GWU the 25-23 set victory.
Gardner-Webb took the second set by an identical 25-23 score to extend its lead in the match to 2-0. The Spartans led by as many as four, 8-4, to begin the frame courtesy of a block from Kayla McAvoy and Dominique Arnold. The Runnin' Bulldogs then posted a 6-1 run to take a 10-9 lead, forcing an Upstate timeout. The Spartans managed to take the lead 14-13 on Eversgerd's kill and maintained it midway through the set. Eversgerd then gave Upstate a 21-19 lead, but the Spartans would be outscored 6-2 the rest of the way as Gardner-Webb fought back to take the set 25-23.
The Spartans held the lead early in the third set as Starr's attack error gave them a 6-4 lead. The Runnin' Bulldogs answered with a 9-3 run to lead 13-9 with Cockrell's service ace. Weiss and Emily Koelling made it 15-14 in favor of GWU with a block, only to see Gardner-Webb push its lead back to 19-15. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored the last four points to win set three 25-18, and take the match 3-0.
Eversgerd and Lexi Gober each had double-doubles for Upstate, while Kaleigh Kelley had a team-high 22 digs. Eversgerd finished with 12 kills and 14 digs, and Gober added 32 assists and 12 digs. Weiss and Arnold finished with 14 and 11 digs, respectively.
Upstate at Wofford
Neither team led by more than one during the first 17 points of set one before four straight Upstate attack errors gave Wofford a 12-8 advantage. Eversgerd got the Spartans to within three at 13-10, but four straight points by the Terriers gave them a 17-10 lead on Bella Santoro's kill. Santoro would later extend Wofford's lead to 20-14. Facing set point at 24-18, Upstate reeled off three straight points with McAvoy and Eversgerd posting one kill each. Liz Buterbaugh gave the Terriers the set win, 25-21, on the next play with her kill.
The Spartans began the second set on a 4-1 run with three different players each recording a kill. Wofford followed with a 5-0 run to go in front 6-4, but Upstate answered back to take an 8-7 lead after an attack error by Danni Densford. The Spartans held the lead midway through the set as Weiss pushed the score to 17-14 on a kill before the Terriers responded with five consecutive points to go back in front 19-17. Upstate trimmed its deficit down to one twice with the last coming when a service ace by Weiss made the score 21-20. Wofford finished with four of the last five points to win the set 25-21.
The Spartans came back in the third set to cut the Terrier lead to 2-1 following a 25-22 victory. Upstate came out of the gates to lead 7-3 as McAvoy and Koelling combined for a block. The Spartans would hold the four-point cushion until McAvoy's service error made it 12-10. Upstate used a 6-3 run to increase its lead to 18-13, and would later use an Alex Holland attack error to push its advantage to 22-16. Wofford rallied late to shorten the Spartan lead to 23-21, and then against at 24-22, but Alexa Lagaly captured the set on her kill.
Upstate sent the match to a fifth, and deciding, set after leading the entire fourth frame to win 25-19. The Spartans used a quick start to lead the Terriers 7-2 after McAvoy's solo block. McAvoy later made it 13-5 with her kill and Upstate would keep the eight-point lead when Koelling's kill made the score 15-7. Wofford got as close as five twice with the latest coming at 16-11 courtesy of a Santoro kill. Lagaly and Weiss combined for the next three Spartan points to go ahead 19-11. The Terriers fought back to within four, 21-17, but Upstate took the set on a service error by Holland.
The Spartans sat tied with Wofford 6-6 to start the fifth set on a kill from Taylor Baird. Upstate then broke the set open with a 5-0 run behind the serving of Arnold. The Terriers committed three attack errors during that stretch while Gober and Eversgerd both had kills. Wofford used a 5-1 run of its own to get back to one, 12-11, but Weiss and Koelling responded with two kills. Santoro's service error sealed the 15-12 victory for the Spartans, capping off the comeback in the final match of the day.
Upstate received double-doubles from Gober, Weiss and Eversgerd, while Kelley tied her career-high of 23 digs. Weiss collected a team-best 12 kills to go with 10 digs, Eversgerd added 11 kills and 20 digs, and Gober contributed 37 assists and 14 digs. McAvoy also had 10 kills.
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