GREENVILLE, S.C. – Coming off the team's longest road trip of the season, USC Upstate volleyball stayed within the Upstate for the final road match of an 11-match season-opening road swing as the Spartans fell in straight sets to Furman in straight sets behind scores of 14-25, 22-25, 21-25 Thursday evening.
 
A pair of Spartan attackers finished the match with a team-best nine kills as junior middle blocker Nikki Deslatte and sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh Nicoll put forth nine kills apiece. Deslatte's nine kills came on 16 swings, posting a .375 hitting efficiency while Nicoll's kill count came on 28 swings, fashioning a .250 hitting percentage.
 
Behind Deslatte and Nicoll on the box score, freshman outside hitter Isabella Raciunas and senior right-side hitter Briana Strobert added six terminations each as Raciunas' total marked a career-high and Strobert's came with a .333 hitting efficiency.
 
Pacing the Upstate offense, junior setter Emma McElveen passed out a team-high 17 assists while freshman setter Savannah Page passed out 11 helpers.
 
Defensively, the Spartans dug up 50-plus balls in a three-set match for the second time this season, finishing Thursday's match with 51 digs. Leading the Upstate floor defense, freshman libero Jaci Drinnon scooped up a match-high 21 balls, posting her third match with 20 or more digs. Finishing behind Drinnon in digs, Nicoll supplemented her nine kills with seven digs with freshman middle blocker Ady O'Grady adding a career-high six digs.
 
At the net, Upstate tallied 4.0 total team blocks, adding to its streak of matches with 4.0 or more total team blocks to start the season. With three total blocks, Strobert led the Spartans in the category with Deslatte and O'Grady adding two total blocks apiece.
 
In service, the Spartans landed five service aces with Nicoll leading the way by landing three consecutive winners during the third set. Sophomore defensive specialist Julia Gladhill and O'Grady each added a service ace.
 
UP Next for the Spartans
After opening the season on an 11-match road trip, Upstate returns home to the G.B. Hodge Center for the first time this season, hosting Marshall Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. The match is a "Fight Like A Spartan" match to bring awareness to the fight against ovarian cancer with fans encouraged to wear teal.
 
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