STATESBORO, Ga. – After picking up the team's first victory of the season yesterday afternoon, USC Upstate volleyball opened the second day of the Bash in the Boro with a meeting against a former conference foe as the Spartans dropped Saturday's opening match to Stetson in straight sets behind scores of 21-25, 18-25, 15-25.
 
Despite falling in straight sets, Upstate showed tremendous fight in its second outing of the season, engaging the Hatters in a first-set battle before capturing momentum in sets two and three with scoring runs to open both sets.
 
Earning the first starts of their Spartan careers, freshmen, middle blocker MJ Klaumann and libero Jaci Drinnon each left their marks on the match. After going a perfect 4-for-4 on swings in a single set against Alcorn State, Klaumann followed up with a .538 hitting percentage versus Stetson, posting eight kills with an error on 13 swings to lead the Spartan offense. Drinnon captained the Upstate defense, scooping up double-digit digs in her USC Upstate debut, collecting 12 balls on the afternoon.
 
Klaumann's eight terminations tied senior right-side hitter Briana Strobert for the team lead against Stetson as Strobert put down eight kills with two errors on 16 attempts. Just behind the duo of Klaumann and Strobert, junior middle blocker Nikki Deslatte and junior outside hitter Zelasia Edwards added six and five kills, respectively.
 
Leading to 29 assists on 31 kills, setters, junior Emma McElveen and sophomore Kayla Spangler combined to tally 26 assists over the match's three-set duration. McElveen led the way with 16 helpers with Spangler adding 10.
 
For the second consecutive match, the Spartans' defense dug up 40-plus balls, registering 41 digs (13..67 per set) Saturday morning. Drinnon led the group as the only Spartan in double-figures with Edwards adding seven digs and sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh Nicoll chipping in six dug balls.
 
At the net, Upstate tallied double-digit block assists for the second straight match, totaling 10 block assists and 5.0 total team blocks. Leading the block in consecutive matches, Deslatte tallied three total blocks with Edwards and Klaumann just behind her with two total blocks each.
 
UP Next for the Spartans
With a bit of a break in the middle of the day, USC Upstate returns to the court later this evening in the final match of the Bash in the Boro. The Spartans face the host Eagles of Georgia Southern tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET with the match also airing on ESPN+.
 
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