UT Martin Box Score (.pdf)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Box Score (.pdf)
St. Louis, Mo. – The USC Upstate volleyball team opened play at the Billiken Invitational on Friday with a pair of victories over the UT Martin Skyhawks and Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions inside Chaifetz Pavilion. Upstate earned a 3-1 win against UT Martin before sweeping Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3-0.
The Spartans improve to 11-2 overall and become the first A-Sun team this season to reach double-digit victories. Upstate defeated UT Martin by scores of 25-23, 25-16, 31-33, 25-13, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff 25-9, 25-15, 25-13.
The Spartans are back in action Saturday with two matches against North Dakota and host Saint Louis. Upstate will face North Dakota at 3 p.m. EST and Saint Louis at 8 p.m. EST.
Match 1 – Upstate vs. UT Martin
Madison Haake led three Spartans in double-figure kills after tying her career-high of 18. She compiled her sixth double-double of the season after recording 17 digs. Emily Koelling contributed 14 kills and Callie Yeargin fell just short of a double-double with 10 kills and nine digs. Lexi Gober dished out 52 assists and Shannon Weiss posted 18 digs.
Lael Ceriani had a match-high 19 kills for UT Martin and Chelsea Bowles finished with 31 digs to lead all players. Ellie Cain collected a double-double on 47 assists and 10 digs.
Haake had nine of her kills in the first set as Upstate won 25-23. The Spartans traded the opening 18 points of the set with the Skyhawks and were tied 9-9 following an attack error by Haake. Upstate used a 9-5 run midway to take its largest lead of the set at 18-14 after Haake and Koelling combined for three kills over a stretch of five plays. UT Martin answered back to equal the set at 19-19 forcing a timeout by the Spartans. Haake recorded three straight kills to put Upstate back in front 23-21. The Skyhawks tied the set again at 23-23, but an attack error and kill by Haake gave the Spartans the two-point win.
Upstate never trailed in the second set after opening the frame on a 13-3 run. The Spartans took five of the first six points and led 5-1 on two straight errors by Madison Wessling. Haake and Brianna Tellschow later teamed up for a block to put Upstate ahead 13-3. UT Martin got as close as five, 19-14, late, but were limited to just two points after that. The Spartans finished the set on a 6-2 run and won 25-16 on a solo block by Haake. Rebecca Shearer tallied the final three kills.
The third set marked the longest of the season for Upstate despite falling 33-31. The Skyhawks took an early 12-7 lead off Amanda Crask's service ace only to see the Spartans rally to tie the set at 14-14 on a kill from Yeargin. Upstate took its first lead the following play courtesy of a block by Gober and Koelling. The Spartans would hold the lead until they sat at match point 24-22 on Gober's kill. UT Martin evened the set two plays later and sent the frame into extra points. The teams exchanged points for the next 15 plays until the Skyhawks captured the final two, off Upstate errors, for a 33-31 victory.
The Spartans controlled the entire fourth set after opening with a quick 5-0 lead highlighted by two service aces from Haake. Upstate increased its lead into double-digits several plays later after Koelling's kill gave it a 15-5 advantage. The lead remained in double-figures after that with the Spartans leading by as many as 14 when a kill by Tellschow gave them a 23-9 lead. Upstate would go on to a convincing 25-13 win and take the match 3-1.
Match 2 – Upstate vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Koelling led the Spartans offensively with a match-high 14 kills against the Golden Lions. Gober added 31 assists and Kayla Eversgerd 13 digs.
Natalie Gibbs collected six kills for the Golden Lions while Katy Hufnogel had 18 assists. Courtney Brand posted 10 digs.
Upstate opened the match in style by holding an opponent to single-digit points for the first time this season as it won the first set 25-9. The Spartans raced out to a 10-1 lead to begin the set with Koelling recording three kills during that stretch. Upstate increased its lead to double-figures three plays later and used a 7-2 run to push its advantage out to 19-4 on Gober's service ace. Javon Gates won the set for the Spartans with her kill giving them the 16-point victory.
The second set was close in the early stages with the score tied 7-7 after a kill from Gibbs. Upstate answered by capturing four of the next five points to take a 12-8 lead capped off by Yeargin's kill. The Spartans led by at least six throughout the middle stages of the set before reeling off the last five points to win 25-15. Koelling picked up two consecutive kills to win the set for Upstate with Eversgerd adding a service ace and Yeargin a kill.
The Spartans went back-and-forth with Arkansas-Pine Bluff to start the third set as the score sat even at 5-5 following a kill by Alexa Lagaly. Upstate tallied five straight points after that to lead 10-5 courtesy of kills from Lagaly, Koelling and Yeargin. The Spartans broke the set open with a 5-1 run to go ahead 15-6 as Koelling and Haake compiled back-to-back kills. Upstate took its first double-digit lead of the set at 22-12 on a combination block by Gates and Dominique Arnold. The Spartans held the Golden Lions to just one point over the final seven to win 25-13 and earn a 3-0 match victory.
Follow Upstate volleyball on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
