GREENSBORO, N.C. – Staring off the final weekend of the regular season, USC Upstate volleyball recorded 21.75 digs per set, eclipsing 20 or more digs per set for the second time in its last three matches, as four Spartans collected double-digit digs as Upstate dropped a hard-fought battle Friday night at North Carolina A&T.
Captaining a defensive unit that collected 87 digs in a four-set match, senior libero
Mackenzie Marcum—the reigning Big South Libero of the Week—dug up a team-high 21 balls as she tallied her sixth 20-plus dig match of the season. Joining Marcum in double-figures was senior outside hitter
Kelly Wiedemann who totaled 16 digs while senior outside hitter
Breeana Gamueda and senior setter/right-side hitter
Allie Hamsher added 11 digs each.
Finishing just shy of double-digit digs were senior middle blocker
Alexis Mareko, sophomore setter
Emma McElveen, and junior defensive specialist
Scout Hoffmeier who added nine, eight, and eight digs, respectively. Mareko's total marked a career-high while Hoffmeier collected all eight of her digs in the match's final set.
Gamueda stood as the lone Spartan with double-figure terminations in the match, finishing with 10 kills to pair with her 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Finishing with eight kills apiece were junior right-side hitter Bri Strobert and sophomore middle blocker
Nikki Deslatte who nearly joined Gamueda to give the Spartans three players with 10-plus kills.
Joining Gamueda in tallying a double-double, Hamsher passed out 17 assists on the night, pairing with her 11 digs for her team-leading 10
th double-double this season. McElveen paced the Spartan setting unit, dishing out 19 assists on the evening.
In addition to its 21.75 digs per set, Upstate also posted its seventh match with 10 or more blocks, turning away 10 North Carolina A&T attack attempts. Deslatte led the defense with seven total blocks, finishing a block shy of her career-high, with Hamsher finishing behind her with four total blocks—a career-high.
The Spartans also pressed the service game against the Aggies, collecting the team's sixth match of the season with double-digit service aces. Leading Upstate in winners was Mareko who landed a career-best four aces as Gamueda tied a career-high with three aces as the duo combined for seven of the team's 12 aces.
UP Next for the Spartans
Continuing on the road, Upstate faces one final match to wrap up the regular season. The Spartans and High Point square off Saturday at 2 p.m. ET in the regular-season finale.
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