Murray State Box Score (.pdf)
Liberty Box Score (.pdf)
Lynchburg, Va. – The USC Upstate volleyball team opened play with a three-set loss to Murray State, but responded with a three-set victory over host Liberty on Saturday during the final day of the Liberty Invitational from the Vines Center.
The Spartans fell to Murray State 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 11-25) in their first match of the day before defeating Liberty 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19) to conclude the weekend tournament with a 1-2 record. With the win, Upstate improved its record to 3-4 on the season.
USC Upstate heads to N. Charleston, S.C. next weekend (Sept. 12-13) for the Wingate Invitational hosted by Charleston Southern.
Upstate vs. Murray State
A late run in the opening set gave Murray State the 25-23 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. The lead changed hands nine times in the first 20 points as the teams sat tied 10-10 following a kill from Kayla McAvoy. The Racers took a 16-14 lead on an attack error by Alexa Lagaly, and later stretched it to 19-15 with a kill from Kristen Besselsen. Murray State later led by as many as five, 23-18, but Upstate answered back with four straight points to cut its deficit to one at 23-22 after a service ace by Lexi Gober. Murray State held off the USC Upstate charge to take the first set by two.
The Spartans led early in the second set as two attack errors by the Racers put them ahead 2-1. Murray State responded with an 8-2 run to lead 9-4 after an attack error by Shannon Weiss. Upstate got to within three after that, but the Racers led the entire way including a 21-13 advantage courtesy of an 8-3 run after the Spartans had cut their deficit to three. Taylor Olden sealed the 25-19 set win with her kill, giving Murray State a 2-0 lead.
Upstate was limited to nine kills in the third set as the Racers clinched the match 3-0 after 25-11 victory in the third frame. Murray State jumped ahead 6-2 to begin the set with a solo block from Besselsen, and kept that lead until, in front 10-6, posted a 9-3 run to lead 19-9. Eversgerd ended the run with a kill, but the Racers ended the set scoring six of the final seven points to win the set and match.
Eversgerd picked up her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 15 digs and 11 kills. McAvoy led the Spartans with 12 kills, while Gober added 31 assists.
Upstate at Liberty
Upstate came back in its second, and final, match of the day to sweep Liberty 3-0 behind double-double efforts from Gober and Weiss. Weiss led all players with 21 digs to go with 10 kills, and Gober had 44 assists and 11 digs. Eversgerd and McAvoy each had double-figure kills as Eversgerd had a team-best 17 and McAvoy contributed 12. Kaleigh Kelley also compiled 16 digs.
Despite giving up the first two points of the first set, the Spartans fought back with a 10-4 run capped off with a kill from Eversgerd to give Upstate a 10-6 lead. The Spartans maintained their three-point lead midway through the set before a Flames attack error and service ace by Weiss gave them an 18-13 lead, forcing a Liberty timeout. The Flames came out of the timeout and immediately cut their deficit down to 18-16, but that would be as close as they could get. USC Upstate recorded the final four points for the 25-20 triumph and 1-0 advantage in the match.
Upstate trailed by three to start the second set as Liberty led 7-4 after a kill from Hannah Weidner. Weiss finished off a 7-2 run for the Spartans to give them an 11-9 cushion, a lead which they would not relinquish the rest of the way. After the Flames evened the set at 12-12, Upstate broke it open with an 11-3 run to lead 23-15 on a kill from Weiss. Liberty never gave up scoring the next seven points to get to within one at 23-22. The teams traded the next two points before Eversgerd captured the set for the Spartans, giving them the 25-23 victory and stretched their lead in the match to 2-0.
Upstate was behind just three times in the third set with each coming in the first five points. Lagaly would give the Spartans a 4-3 lead with her kill and not look back from there. Upstate gained a five-point lead at 11-6, which stayed that way when Weiss made it 16-11 on her kill. The Flames were only able to get to within four three times as the Spartans answered each point recorded by Liberty. McAvoy and Eversgerd teamed up for Upstate's final three points to give it the 25-19 win, and secure the match victory 3-0.
Eversgerd Selected to the All-Tournament Team
Eversgerd was named to the Liberty Invitational All-Tournament Team following her play this weekend. The outside hitter led the Spartans with 45 kills in the three matches while also contributing 38 digs, three assists and two blocks. She tallied two double-doubles against UNC Greensboro and Murray State, and averaged 4.09 kills and 3.45 digs per set.
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