RADFORD, Va. – Finishing the back-to-back first leg of the team's four-match Big South road trip, USC Upstate volleyball battled against Radford in the four-set match, taking the first set before battling in each of the next three sets, pushing sets two and three to the final points. The match saw 14 total ties and five lead changes over its duration.
Game Information
Score: Radford 3; USC Upstate 1 (19-25; 25-23; 25-21; 25-18)
Records: USC Upstate (9-8; 2-3 Big South); Radford (3-11; 2-3 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
How It Happened
Opening the match with a set victory for the fourth time in the team's five Big South matches, Upstate closed its final match of the opening leg of the team's first conference road trip Saturday against Radford. The opening set victory set up a back and forth set two and three as Upstate battled back from deficits in both sets.
Junior setter
Kayla Spangler collected her sixth career double-double for the Spartans as she finished with 34 assists and 14 digs, leading Upstate in both categories. Adding to her double-double—her third in five league matches—she dumped in three kills and combined on three blocks, setting a career-high for total blocks in the match.
Leading Upstate's offense, junior outside hitter
Ashleigh Nicoll tallied 11 kills, reaching double-figures for the 11
th time this season. She added eight digs on the afternoon, nearing a double-double. Just behind her and a kill shy of double-digits, sophomore middle blocker
Ady O'Grady totaled nine kills while senior middle blocker
Nikki Deslatte and senior outside hitter
Zelasia Edwards added six kills apiece.
For the fifth time this season, the Spartans' net defense turned away 11 Highlander attack attempts, claiming 11.0 team total blocks in the match, the team's second-highest single-match blocking total of the season. O'Grady led Upstate with six total blocks, earning both of Upstate's solo blocks and four block assists, with Deslatte finishing with five total blocks, all assists.
Behind the block, three players scooped up 10-plus digs as senior libero/defensive specialist
Caroline Cleveland and Spangler led the group with 14 digs apiece. Collecting 13 balls on the afternoon, junior defensive specialist/libero
Julia Gladhill rounded out the trio.
In service, Upstate landed five or more aces for the third straight match, totaling seven winners Saturday. Gladhill led the team's servers with three service aces, landing all three in succession in the first set, setting the tone for the Spartans to win the set.
UP Next for the Spartans
Wrapping up the final leg of the team's four-match road trip, Upstate returns to the Upstate region for a pair of local Big South matches next weekend. The leg opens with a Friday the 13
th trip to Winthrop before closing at Gardner-Webb on Oct. 14.
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