CLINTON, S.C. – Beginning the team's final two-match road trip of the season Friday night, USC Upstate volleyball jumped out to a first-set victory for the 13
th time this season, however, the Spartans couldn't hold off a rally from Presbyterian, succumbing in four sets to open the road swing.
Game Information
Score: Presbyterian 3; USC Upstate 1 (20-25; 26-24; 25-22; 25-17)
Records: USC Upstate (11-11; 4-6 Big South); Presbyterian (8-13; 6-4 Big South)
Location: Templeton Center | Clinton, S.C.
How It Happened
Back on the road as the Big South slate begins to wind down, USC Upstate built itself an early advantage as it took the first set before engaging in a tightly contested second set as Presbyterian took the game to tie the match. The Blue Hose captured each of the next two sets as the Spartans battled before falling in the four-set match.
Five Spartans finished the night with eight or more kills as two Spartans concluded the night with double-digit terminations. For the fourth straight match—extending her career-long stretch of matches with 10-plus kills—sophomore middle blocker
Ady O'Grady finished with 12 kills, fashioning the total behind a .269 hitting efficiency. Junior outside hitter
Ashleigh Nicoll joined O'Grady in double-figures, contributing 10 kills in the match.
Just shy of double-figures, a pair of Spartans posted career-high kill totals as sophomore right-side hitter
MJ Klaumann and junior setter
Kayla Spangler tallied nine kills apiece. Klaumann totaled nine kills for the fourth time this season, doing so behind a .273 hitting efficiency while Spangler bested her career-high by four kills using a hitting percentage of .667. Rounding out the group of players with eight or more kills, senior outside hitter
Zelasia Edwards totaled eight kills on the night.
Supplementing her career-best nine kills, Spangler passed out 37 assists in the match, exceeding 30-plus assists for the 14
th match this season. She also contributed seven digs in the match as she neared her seventh double-double and first triple-double of her career.
Defensively, junior libero
Julia Gladhill led Upstate with a match-best 13 digs as she was one of three Spartans with double-digit digs in the match. Just behind Gladhill were Edwards and senior defensive specialist
Caroline Cleveland, adding 12 and 11 digs respectively. Edwards also supplemented her eight kills and 12 digs by landing four service aces, leading the Spartans in the service game.
UP Next for the Spartans
Concluding the team's final two-match road trip of the season, Upstate heads to the Lowcountry Saturday for a meeting with Charleston Southern. The Spartans and Buccaneers see first serve set for 2 p.m. ET.
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