Presbyterian College Box Score (.pdf)
East Tennessee State Box Score (.pdf)
Clemson, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team opened play at the Clemson Classic on Friday afternoon by going 1-1 including a four-set victory over the Presbyterian College Blue Hose inside Jervey Gym.
Upstate began the day with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 27-29, 25-17) win over Presbyterian College before falling 3-0 (19-25, 23-25, 20-25) to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers for its first loss of the season.
The Spartans, now 9-1 on the season, close out the Clemson Classic Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against host school Clemson.
Match 1 – Upstate vs. Presbyterian College
Brianna Tellschow was one of four Upstate players to finish with 10 or more kills as she led all players with a season-high 14. Lexi Gober, Callie Yeargin and Madison Haake each had double-doubles in the four-set victory. Gober dished out 45 assists and tied her career-high of 24 digs, Yeargin added a career-high 13 kills and 11 digs, and Haake finished with 12 kills and 17 digs. Emily Koelling contributed 12 kills and Shannon Weiss 18 digs.
Sara Rogers posted a double-double for Presbyterian College with 23 assists and 20 digs. Mikayla Register collected a match-high 26 digs and Halle Tripp had a team-best seven kills.
The Spartans cruised to a 25-16 win in the first set courtesy of an 8-1 run to begin the frame. Upstate led by as many as eight, 11-3, midway through the set before the Blue Hose trimmed the advantage to 14-11. The Spartans countered with a 7-1 run to go ahead 21-12 following a kill by Haake. Haake and Yeargin combined for the final four kills to give Upstate the nine-point win.
The start of the second set saw the Spartans hold a slight 4-3 advantage before running off six of the next eight to take a 10-5 lead after a kill by Rebecca Shearer. Upstate led by at least six during the middle stages before recording four straight points to lead 21-12 on a kill from Haake. Shearer gave the Spartans their largest lead of the frame at 24-14 with her kill. Haake captured the second set for Upstate as her kill put the final score at 25-18.
Presbyterian College came back in the third set to win 29-27 and trim the Spartan lead to 2-1. The Blue Hose trailed just twice in the opening 21 points and held a 13-8 lead following a kill by Tripp. The Spartans answered with five straight points to even the set at 13-13 and begin a trend that saw the score even five times over the next nine plays. Upstate sat at set point, 24-22, on Haake's kill but PC would tie the score two plays later and send the frame into extra points. The Blue Hose benefitted from two Spartan errors to win the set.
Upstate recorded the first six points of the fourth set to lead 6-0 as Koelling, Gober and Yeargin each had a kill. The Spartans led by as many as nine when Yeargin put them ahead 18-9 with her kill. Presbyterian College managed to get to within four, 18-14, only to see Upstate score six of the next nine to sit at set point, 24-17, on Tellschow's kill. An attack error by Samantha Del Toro gave the Spartans the 25-17 win and take the match 3-1.
Match 2 – East Tennessee State vs. Upstate
Haake had a team-high 15 kills to lead the Upstate offense and just missed on her second double-double of the day after adding eight digs. Gober dished out 33 assists to go with eight digs, and Weiss tallied 17 digs.
Briana Allmon had a match-high 17 kills for East Tennessee State and was one of three players to finish with 10 or more kills. Kristen Favre contributed 43 assists and Hailey Aguilar 19 digs.
The first set was close for a majority of the frame as neither team led by more than three for the opening 30 points. After Shearer gave the Spartans a 15-14 lead with her kill, the Buccaneers posted a quick 4-0 run to go in front 18-15 forcing an Upstate timeout. The Spartans came out of the timeout and cut their deficit to one, 19-18, after a kill by Tellschow. ETSU held Upstate to one point after that and won the first set 25-19.
The beginning of the second set played out in similar fashion as the first with the score trading hands several times. The Spartans trailed by just two, 13-11, during the middle stages of the set and then rallied to take the lead back at 17-14 as Yeargin and Koelling teamed up for a block. East Tennessee State responded with an 8-4 run and led 22-21 late on an attack error by Yeargin. Upstate managed to tie the set at 23-23 on a kill from Haake, but the Buccaneers scored the last two points for a 25-23 win.
ETSU used a late run, while holding off a Spartan rally, to take the third set 25-20 and win the match 3-0. The Buccaneers captured six of the first eight points of the set to lead 6-2 over Upstate. The Spartans fought back to within one, 8-7, on a service error by Favre. East Tennessee State broke the set open with a 12-4 run and increased its lead to 20-11 after an Upstate attack error. The Spartans rallied with a 9-3 run of its own and were down 23-20 as Haake and Yeargin combined for four kills. Mariah McPartland and Khadijiah Wiley picked up the last two points for ETSU to give it the five-point victory.
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