ROCK HILL, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team went punch-for-punch with Winthrop on Friday night but it was Winthrop who came away with a 3-2 victory.
 
USC Upstate (7-17, 3-8 BSC) dropped the opening set 25-16 but bounced in the second set with a 25-23 win. Senior middle blocker Emily Russell recorded the set ending kill that tied the match up for the Spartans.
 
In the third set both USC Upstate and Winthrop (20-4, 12-0 BSC) wanted to win the set but momentum changed in favor of the Spartans late in the set. Trailing 22-17 USC Upstate rattled off four consecutive points to force Winthrop to call a timeout. The timeout did not seem to work as the Spartans went on to tie the set at 23. Once again the Spartans found themselves with their backs against the wall down 30-29 but USC Upstate never gave up as they won the final three points of the set to take a 2-1 lead. Gloria Ikenegbu put the exclamation point on the set with a block at the net for the final point of the third set.
 
 After a quick fourth set the Spartans and the Eagles headed to fifth and final set. USC Upstate raced out to a 6-2 lead and forced Winthrop to use a timeout. Three consecutive points by the Eagles cause USC Upstate to spend a time out to try and keep the momentum. A 4-0 run put the Eagles ahead as the Spartans comeback came up short in the final stanza of the match.
 
A trio of Spartans had double-digit kills in the loss on Friday night. Ikenegbu led the team with 11 kills and 7 assisted blocks. Russell and McKenna Kirkpatrick each contributed 10 kills in the loss, Kirkpatrick recorded a team high 8 assisted blocks in the match.
 
The Spartans will need to have a short memory as they travel to Gardner-Webb tomorrow afternoon to conclude their weekend road trip. For more information on the USC Upstate volleyball program log onto www.upstatespartans.com today.

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