Women's Volleyball 8/29/2019 10:43:00 AM

USC Upstate Volleyball Opens 2019 Season this Weekend at Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team begins its 2019 season, and the Ronda Shirley era, this weekend traveling to Oxford, Ohio to face Virginia Tech, Northwestern and Miami (OH) in the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational.

The Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational is being hosted by Miami (OH) with all three matches being played at Millett Hall.

USC Upstate kicks off tournament play on Friday with two matches against Virginia Tech at 11 a.m. and Northwestern at 5 p.m. The Spartans conclude tournament play on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against host Miami (OH).

This weekend marks the first regular season matches for USC Upstate after hosting Newberry in an exhibition on August 24.

The Spartans return a total of eight letterwinners from last year's team that finished 8-8 in their first season in the Big South Conference. Five of those eight returners are starters in senior Gloria Ikenegbu, redshirt-junior Emily Russell, juniors Lily Dempsey and McKenna Kirkpatrick, and sophomore Mikenzie Young-Mullins. USC Upstate also welcomes six newcomers featuring five freshmen and one junior.

Dempsey, Ikenegbu and Russell were all recognized by the Big South last season on its postseason All-Conference Teams. Dempsey and Ikenegbu were both named Second Team All-Conference while Russell was selected Honorable Mention All-Conference.

Miami (OH) finished last season with a 23-9 overall record and is the favorite this year to win the Mid-American Conference. Northwestern compiled a 16-16 record in 2018 while Virginia Tech posted a 14-16 mark.

Fans can follow the action this weekend on www.upstatespartans.com via live stats. Saturday's match against Miami (OH) is being streamed on Redhawks All-Access. Updates will also be posted on the USC Upstate volleyball Twitter page (@UpstateVB).

The Spartans host Limestone in their first home match of the season on Tuesday, September 3 at 7 p.m.

Follow USC Upstate volleyball on Facebook (UpstateAthletics), Twitter (@UpstateVB), Instagram (@upstatespartans), YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics) and text/e-mail alerts (www.upstatespartans.com/list-signup).

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