Box Score (.pdf)

Cookeville, Tenn. – Madison Haake recorded her third double-double of the season, while Payton Duncan had a team-high 10 kills, as the USC Upstate volleyball team opened play at the Golden Eagle Invitational on Friday afternoon with a 3-0 loss to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at the Eblen Center.

USC Upstate falls to 0-4 overall while Tennessee Tech improves to 4-1 on the season.

The Golden Eagles won the match by scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-23.

STATS OF THE MATCH

• The Spartans finished the match hitting a season-best .221 as a team.
• USC Upstate tied Tennessee Tech with 52 digs, five service aces and four total blocks.
• Haake compiled her team-leading third double-double this season, and 52^nd of her career, after tallying 29 assists and 10 digs. She also added six kills.
• Duncan led the Spartans offensively with 10 kills and finished just shy of a double-double with nine digs.
• Lily Dempsey and Emily Russell both contributed eight kills and hit .316 and .333, respectively, for the match.
• Playing in her first collegiate match, Dylan Herb dished out 11 assists and combined with Haake to give USC Upstate a total of 43.
• Mackenzie Marcum had a team-leading 11 digs.
• Erica Grant and Susie Jeziorowski both had double-doubles for the Golden Eagles as Grant posted 18 kills and 13 digs while Jeziorowski had 41 assists and 10 digs.
• Ali Verzani collected 10 kills and Kirsten Brugere 11 digs.
• The match featured a total of 21 ties and eight lead changes.

SET-BY-SET BREAKDOWN

• Set One:  Duncan recorded the first two points of the set and gave the Spartans an early 2-0 lead. Tennessee Tech followed with an 11-5 run and held an 11-7 lead. USC Upstate came back to tie the set at 14-14 following a kill from McKenna Kirkpatrick. The Golden Eagles would then go on a 6-1 run for a 20-15 advantage. The Spartans got back to within one at 21-20 and maintained that deficit when Russell made it 23-22 with her kill, forcing Tennessee Tech into a timeout. The Golden Eagles scored the final two points for the 25-22 victory.
• Set Two:  The teams exchanged the first eight points as Dempsey evened the score at 4-4 with her kill. Tennessee Tech then scored the next four points before USC Upstate tied the score again when an attack error made it 11-11. The score would be tied three more times after that until the Golden Eagles registered four straight points to lead 18-14. Tennessee Tech led by as many as five points three times with the last coming at 23-18. The Spartans responded by scoring the next five points, capped by a combination block from Dempsey and Russell and a Golden Eagle attack error, to tie the set at 23-23. Tennessee Tech picked up the last two points to win 25-23.
• Set Three:  Russell gave USC Upstate an early 7-4 lead with a kill and combination block along with Dempsey. The Golden Eagles came back to tie the score and then held a 13-10 lead off a Spartan attack error. Trailing 17-15, the Spartans ran off a string of four consecutive points to go ahead 19-17 on a Tennessee Tech attack error. The Golden Eagles would go back in front 23-21 only to see USC Upstate come back with an attack error and Haake kill to put the score at 23-23. Following a timeout, Tennessee Tech scored the final two points for the 25-23 win and 3-0 match victory.

UP NEXT

• The Spartans close out play at the Golden Eagle Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 1 against East Carolina and New Orleans.
• USC Upstate faces East Carolina at 10 a.m. and New Orleans at 4 p.m.

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