North Dakota Box Score
Saint Louis Box Score
St. Louis, Mo. – The USC Upstate volleyball team concluded play at the Billiken Invitational on Saturday with a pair of defeats to North Dakota and the Saint Louis Billikens inside Chaifetz Pavilion.
Upstate falls to 11-4 overall after splitting its four matches this weekend in St. Louis. The Spartans return to the Hodge Center for the first time in three weeks Tuesday evening as they host Wofford at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
Emily Koelling was named to the Billiken Invitational All-Tournament Team. The junior has been named to three straight All-Tournament Teams after receiving the accolade at the AmericInn Runnin' Bulldog Classic and Clemson Classic earlier this season.
Match 1 – North Dakota vs. Upstate
Koelling had a team-high 14 kills for Upstate as it began the day with a 3-1 (17-25, 26-24, 21-25, 21-25) loss to North Dakota in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Lexi Gober recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 43 assists and 12 digs. Kayla Eversgerd was one of five Spartans with double-digit digs after finishing with a team-best 28. Callie Yeargin set a new career-high in digs with 22.
Julia Kaczorowska and Courtney Place each tallied a match-high 17 kills for North Dakota. Sydney Griffin dished out 51 assists and McKenzie Hart added 35 digs.
Upstate stayed within striking distance early in the first set and would tie the score at 8-8 on Eversgerd's service ace. The teams traded points over the next several plays with Rebecca Shearer equaling the score again when her kill made it 11-11. UND used a 6-1 run to break the set open as a block by Kaczorowska and Chelsea Moser put the score at 17-12. North Dakota would later extend its lead to seven, 22-15, following Moser's service ace. UND would go on to win the set 25-17 on Faith Dooley's kill.
The Spartans answered back in the second set to win 26-24 and even the match at 1-1. Upstate exchanged the first 14 points with North Dakota before using a 10-5 run to take a 17-12 lead on a service ace by Yeargin. UND fought back to even the set at 21-21 but the Spartans responded with two straight points to take a two-point lead. After North Dakota tied the score again, Koelling helped capture the set for Upstate with a kill and combination block.
The third set opened in similar fashion as the previous two with the score nodded at 9-9 after a kill from Koelling. UND benefitted from an 8-3 run to go in front 17-12 before the Spartans attempted a late comeback. Upstate got as close as 22-21 after Gober, Haake and Koelling each picked up a kill. North Dakota scored the final three points of the set to win 25-21.
Neither team led by more than two points to start the fourth set until the Spartans increased their advantage to 14-11 courtesy of a kill by Yeargin. UND rallied to regain the lead when Place gave it a 19-18 cushion, capping off a 5-0 run. Upstate was able to keep its margin at two before North Dakota won the set, and match, with Amanda Harnett picking up a kill and assisted block. UND took the fourth set by a score of 25-21.
Match 2 – Upstate at Saint Louis
The Spartans finished up the Billiken Invitational with a 3-0 (18-25, 20-25, 21-25) loss to host school Saint Louis.
Gober compiled her second double-double of the day to lead Upstate on 35 assists and 11 digs. Koelling contributed 10 kills and Eversgerd a team-high 14 digs.
Danielle Rygelski led all players with 10 kills for the Billikens while Meredith Boe had 35 assists. Nenye Okoro was one of two players with 10 or more digs as she finished with 12 and Mackenzie Long tallied 10.
Saint Louis started the first set by scoring five of the first six points to lead 5-1 on Koelling's attack error. The Spartans responded by taking their first lead of the set at 11-10 following back-to-back kills by Koelling and Yeargin. The Billikens took the lead for good after going on a 10-4 run to go ahead 20-15. Taylor Paulson won the set for Saint Louis, giving them the seven-point victory, with her kill.
For the second straight set, Upstate fought back from trailing early to take a late lead. The Billikens led by as many as 10-5 to begin the second set on Megan Gilbert's kill. The Spartans scored three straight points from Yeargin, Shearer and Dominique Arnold to take a 17-16 lead. Upstate was limited to three points after that as Saint Louis finished the set on a 6-1 run. The Billikens won 25-20 after Okoro notched a kill.
The third set was tightly contested the whole way with the lead never being larger than five. Saint Louis led 4-1 to start the frame but the Spartans responded to tie the score at 7-7 on a service ace by Yeargin. The Billikens took the lead back and held on to it until Koelling made it 14-14 with her kill. Upstate fell behind 22-17 after that with Saint Louis going on an 8-3 run. The Spartans were only able to get within three as the Billikens won the set 25-21, taking the match 3-0.
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