Box Score (.pdf)

Fort Myers, Fla. – The USC Upstate volleyball team began a five-match road trip on Friday evening by dropping a 3-0 decision in conference play to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at Alico Arena.

Upstate falls to 5-12 on the season and 2-2 in ASUN play while Florida Gulf Coast improves to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference.

The Eagles won the match by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-19.

STATS OF THE MATCH

• Florida Gulf Coast held a .333 to .168 advantage over the Spartans in hitting percentage.
• Upstate forced the Eagles into 14 attack errors.
• Both teams finished the match with six total blocks apiece.
• Callie Yeargin led the Spartans offensively with nine kills and hit .200 for the match.
• Madison Haake and Rebecca Shearer combined for 26 assists with Haake dishing out 15 and Shearer 11.
• Montana Swanson had a team-high eight digs while Gloria Ikenegbu turned in four assisted blocks.
• Amanda Carroll finished with a double-double for Florida Gulf Coast on a match-high 15 kills to go with 10 digs.
• Maggie Rick contributed 37 assists and Karissa Rhoades 17 digs.

SET-BY-SET BREAKDOWN

• Set One:  The Eagles began the set with a 7-2 run and took a five-point lead on a combination block. Upstate managed to cut its deficit to 8-5 several plays later and stayed within a five-point margin midway when a kill by Yeargin made the score 14-9. Florida Gulf Coast used an 8-5 run to break the set open and led 22-14 late. The Eagles won the set 25-17 on a service error.
• Set Two:  The teams traded the first 18 points of the second set and were tied 9-9 to start. The Spartans led four times during the opening stages with their largest coming at 4-1 on Ikenegbu's kill. An FGCU attack error kept Upstate's lead at 9-7. The Eagles would then take a 15-11 advantage courtesy of an 8-2 run. The Spartans trimmed the lead down to 18-16 after a service error by Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles concluded the set on a 7-2 run to win 25-18.
• Set Three:  The third set featured a total of eight ties and three lead changes. Yeargin gave Upstate an early 5-4 lead with her kill but FGCU came back with four straight points to lead 8-5. The Spartans answered with a 5-1 run of their own and took a 10-9 lead off a service ace by Payton Duncan. The Eagles led by as many as five points, 17-12, midway but Upstate fought back with a 7-3 run and trailed 20-19 on Swanson's kill. FGCU scored the final five points for the 25-19 triumph.

UP NEXT

• The Spartans travel to DeLand, Fla. on Saturday evening and will face the Stetson Hatters at 6 p.m.

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