Spartans Swindle Pirates in Straight Sets

Saturday, October 12

Hampton, Va.

4:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

6-11,(2-3)Big Sout

Hampton

6-10 (1-4)Big Sout

USC Upstate

Hampton

10/12/2019 10:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

HAMPTON, Va. – The USC Upstate volleyball team ended their road trip on a high note on Saturday afternoon with a straight set sweep (25-10, 25-21, 25-18) of Hampton.

USC Upstate (6-11, 2-3 BSC) registered a .278 hitting percentage in the match, including a match high .348 hitting percentage in the opening set. Hampton (6-10, 1-4 BSC) finished the match with a .067 hitting percentage in the loss to USC Upstate.

The Spartans won the first five points of the opening set to set the tone for the rest of the match. Moments later McKenna Kirkpatrick capped off a quick 3-0 spurt for the Spartans with a kill to give USC Upstate a commanding 9-2 lead. Leading 11-5 Emily Russell bookended a pair of kills around three consecutive attack errors by Hampton to increase the Spartans lead to 16-5. USC Upstate ended the opening set on a 5-1 run.

The second set was a little bit different as Hampton not only kept it close but held a two point advantage over the Spartans in the early moments of the set. Trailing 11-9, senior Gloria Ikenegbu sparked a 3-0 run by the Spartans with a kill. Trailing 16-15 the Spartans offense was looking for yet another spark when they rattled off five consecutive points to go up 20-16. The short spurt gave the Spartans enough room to close out the set 25-21.

In the third set the Spartans came out firing as they ran out to an early 6-3 advantage over the Pirates. Holding a 14-7 lead USC Upstate cruised to a 25-18 set win and picked up their third sweep of the season.

Stats of the Match:

USC Upstate recorded 53 points on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans registered 9 aces and recorded 7 blocks in the match against the Pirates.
Emily Russell led the team with 12 kills and Gloria Ikenegbu contributed 10 kills in the win.
Mackenzie Marcum led the team in digs with 13 and Annalisa Mendoza registered 28 assists in the win over Hampton.

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