Box Score (.pdf)

Newark, N.J. – Lily Dempsey and Callie Yeargin combined for 23 kills on Saturday afternoon as the USC Upstate volleyball team rallied in the fifth set to defeat the NJIT Highlanders 3-2 in its ASUN opener from Fleisher Athletic Center.

Upstate improves to 4-10 overall and 1-0 in the conference while NJIT falls to 6-8 on the season and 0-1 in league play.

The Spartans won the match by scores of 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 14-25 and 16-14.

STATS OF THE MATCH

• Dempsey led Upstate offensively with 12 kills and hit .229 in the match. The freshman also tallied seven digs and three service aces.
• Yeargin added 11 kills and just missed on a double-double with nine digs.
• Kaleigh Kelley had a team-high 16 digs for the Spartans while Montana Swanson added 10.
• Tess Albyn posted a match-high 22 kills for the Highlanders and Iva Mandic contributed 10.
• Liz Benson collected a double-double of 60 assists and 10 digs.
• Adriana Nieto led all players with 24 digs.
• NJIT held a .247 to .170 advantage in hitting percentage but Upstate tied its season-high of 10.0 team blocks.
• The Spartans also forced the Highlanders into 29 attack errors.

SET-BY-SET BREAKDOWN

• Set One:  Upstate opened the first set scoring each of the first three points to lead 3-0 as Swanson, McKenna Kirkpatrick and Payton Duncan all contributed a point. NJIT came back with an 8-3 run to go in front of the Spartans 8-6. Upstate later used a Highlander attack error and Yeargin kill to tie the score at 10-10. The Highlanders would go on an 8-3 run to lead 18-13 midway and later held a 22-15 advantage. The Spartans attempted a late comeback and trailed 23-21 on another NJIT attack error. The Highlanders scored the next two points to win the set.
• Set Two:  Upstate started the second set on a 5-1 run and led by four on an NJIT service error. The Highlanders would cut the lead to 9-7 a few plays later on a kill. The Spartans then broke the set open courtesy of a 9-4 run and led 18-11 following a bad set. NJIT got as close as three points, 23-20, late on a kill. Yeargin captured the set for Upstate as her kill put the final score at 25-22.
• Set Three:  The Spartans scored six of the first nine points of the third set and went in front 6-3 on a ball handling error. The Highlanders later trimmed the lead to 11-10 with a kill. Upstate then went on an 8-2 run for a 19-12 lead off an NJIT attack error. Dempsey gave the Spartans their largest lead of the frame at 24-16 with her service ace. The Highlanders tried a late rally and trailed 24-20, forcing an Upstate timeout. The Spartans won the set the following play on Swanson's kill.
• Set Four:  The teams traded the opening 10 points of the fourth set before NJIT took a 12-6 lead when Alyssa Armada's kill capped a 7-1 run. Upstate cut its deficit down to five the following play with Yeargin's kill. The Highlanders outscored the Spartans 12-7 the rest of the way and won the set 25-14.
• Set Five:  The fifth, and final, set featured seven ties and three lead changes. Upstate held an early 4-3 lead off Yeargin's kill before NJIT answered with a 7-4 run and led 11-7 midway. The Spartans responded with a 5-1 run of their own and evened the score at 12-12 on a service ace by Kirkpatrick. The score would be tied twice after that. Yeargin captured the final two points for Upstate to give it the 16-14 victory.

UP NEXT

• The Spartans return to the Hodge Center for the first time this season on Friday, Sept. 29 when they host Jacksonville at 6 p.m.

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