SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Concluding a two-match homestand and closing the first weekend of the rematch portion of the team's Big South schedule, USC Upstate volleyball clashed with High Point as two of the match's three sets were decided by two points apiece Saturday at the G.B. Hodge Center.
 
Game Information
Score: High Point 3; USC Upstate 0 (27-25; 25-17; 25-23)
Records: USC Upstate (11-10; 4-5 Big South); High Point (16-6; 9-0 Big South)
Location: G.B. Hodge Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
Coming out of the gate strong and fighting their way through the first set, the Spartans held a lead and forced the game into extra points before battling in the third set and forcing the deciding set to be won by two points. The first and third sets represented the tightest two sets played by the Panthers during conference play this season with Upstate responsible for the closest sets played by High Point in Big South play.
 
Leading to the team's fast start to open the match, the Spartans pressed the service game, landing four of the team's seven service aces in the opening game. Five of Upstate's six primary servers landed a winner as Upstate recorded five-plus service aces for the third straight match with junior outside hitter Ashleigh Nicoll and junior setter Kayla Spangler each landing two aces apiece.
 
The third set saw Upstate record 7.0 of the team's 9.0 total team blocks as the Spartans finished with 8.0 or more team total blocks for the fifth straight match. Pulling the set to within a point and forcing a Panther timeout, senior middle blocker Nikki Deslatte and sophomore right-side hitter MJ Klaumann teamed for four straight blocks with the pair marking two of the three Spartans with four block assists in the match.
 
Rounding out the trio of Spartans with four block assists, sophomore middle blocker Ady O'Grady tallied five total blocks, adding a solo block to her four block assists. She supplemented her team-leading block total with a team-high 10 kills as she reached double-figure kills for the third straight match, the longest stretch of double-digit kill matches in her career.
 
Nicoll finished just shy of double-figures, adding eight kills on the afternoon while Deslatte added five while running the team's offense, Spangler passed out 26 assists. Defensively, a pair of players finished with 10 or more digs for Upstate as senior defensive specialist Caroline Cleveland and junior libero Julia Gladhill totaled 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
 
UP Next for the Spartans
Following the team's two-match homestand, Upstate returns to the road next weekend for a two-match Big South slate. The Spartans head to Presbyterian next Friday and Charleston Southern next Saturday.
 
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