CARBONDALE, Ill. – Looking to snap a five-match losing skid and facing two matches on the opening day of the Saluki Invitational, USC Upstate volleyball rode numerous career-best performances Friday as the team earned a split in matches against Alabama State and Southern Illinois.
Match One (USC Upstate 3, Alabama State 1)
Opening play at the Saluki Invitational, Upstate wasted little time in stopping its winless streak, taking down Alabama State in four sets in the team's opening match behind scores of 26-24, 16-25, 25-22, and 25-12.
The Spartans' block played a crucial part in the victory as the team collected 13.0 total blocks while holding the Hornets to a .107 team hitting efficiency. Senior middle blocker
Alexis Mareko and junior right-side hitter
Briana Strobert were a formidable duo, finishing the match with 10 and eight total blocks, respectively while combining for seven of the team's 13 blocks during the match.
For both players, their block totals represented career-highs with Mareko's tally finishing a block shy of the program's Division I era record for total blocks—Emily Russell (11) versus Georgia Southern [9/14/18].
The pair's blocks also came at critical points throughout the match as the pair ignited a scoring run at the end of the third set with a block while a solo block from Mareko set the tone for the Spartans in set four with the pair again inserting themselves in long scoring runs later in the set.
Strobert also made an impact on the offensive end during the match behind a season-high 10 kills off the right-side, hitting a career-best (min. 10 kills) .529 on the afternoon. She was joined in double-figure kills by senior outside hitter
Kelly Wiedemann who posted her 10
th career 10-plus kill match with 14 terminations.
In service, Wiedemann also made an impact, landing a career-high four service aces as she was at the service line during a couple of momentum-changing scoring runs throughout the match. Earning a sideout to regain service late in the first set, she led Upstate on a six-point scoring run to come back and take the first set.
Upstate's setters and libero were not absent from the career afternoons as sophomore
Emma McElveen and freshman
Kayla Spangler both passed out career-high assists totals, dishing out 27 and 17 helpers, respectively while freshman
Julia Gladhill scooped up a career-high-tying 16 digs.
Match Two (Southern Illinois 3, USC Upstate 0)
Returning from the first match of the day for the final of the evening, Upstate showed continuous fight throughout the match by pushing host Southern Illinois to grind out set victories 25-19, 26-24, and 25-17.
The Spartans continued their control of the block in the day's final match, posting 9.0 team blocks against the Salukis to finish day one of the Saluki Invitational with their two best single-match blocking performances of the season.
Mareko was again a commanding presence at the net, collecting eight total blocks in the match, upping her total for the day to 18 total blocks (two solo blocks and 16 block assists). Increasing her block total for the day to 11, Strobert finished the match with three total blocks as Wiedemann also added three blocks in the nightcap.
Pacing the offense, Strobert tallied eight kills in the match behind a .316 hitting efficiency, committing just two errors on 19 total swings. Overall, seven total Spartans finished the match with a kill as six players came away with three or more terminations in the match.
Running the offense, McElveen and Spangler tallied 15 and 10 assists, respectively, with McElveen finishing just shy of a double-double as she added nine digs on the night. In addition to her 10 assists, Spangler also recorded her first career kill, a well-timed dump from the 10-foot line to fool the Saluki defense.
In her fourth consecutive match wearing the libero jersey, Gladhill reached double-digit digs with 10 on the night, finishing just shy of Wiedemann's team-high 11 digs.
UP Next for the Spartans
Upstate returns to action at the Saluki Invitational in the event's penultimate match, facing off against Eastern Illinois at 12:00 p.m. ET Saturday.
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