Eagle Challenge
August 25, 2023 | 1:00 p.m./4:30 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (0-0; 0-0 Big South) vs. Queens [N.C.] (0-0; 0-0 ASUN)
USC Upstate (0-0; 0-0 Big South) vs. Stonehill [Mass.] (0-0; 0-0 NEC)
 
August 26, 2023 | 2:00 p.m.
USC Upstate (0-0; 0-0 Big South) vs. Morehead State (0-0; 0-0 OVC)
Johnson Arena | Morehead, Ky.
 
TV: ESPN+ (vs. Morehead State only) | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
 
How They Stack Up
vs. Queens (N.C.)
Records: USC Upstate (0-0; 0-0 Big South); Queens (0-0; 0-0 ASUN)
Series: First Meeting
Last Five Meetings: First Meeting
 
vs. Stonehill (Mass.)
Records: USC Upstate (0-0; 0-0 Big South); Stonehill (0-0; 0-0 NEC)
Series: First Meeting
Last Five Meetings: First Meeting
 
vs. Morehead State
Records: USC Upstate (0-0; 0-0 Big South); Morehead State (0-0; 0-0 OVC)
Series: First Meeting
Last Five Meetings: First Meeting
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate: Helping Upstate rank second in the Big South in team total blocks (228.0) and rank third in the conference in blocks per set (2.24) last season, senior middle blocker Nikki Deslatte and sophomore middle blocker Ady O'Grady paced the team's defense at the net, ranking one-two in total blocks on the team. Deslatte led the team with 89 total blocks a year ago, entering the new campaign sitting seventh on the program's Division I era (2007-pres.) leaderboard in career blocks with 204. O'Grady led the Spartans in blocks per set, ranking third in the league last season with 1.02 blocks per set as she and Deslatte are the second and third-leading returning blockers in the Big South, respectively.
 
Queens: Returning after leading the Royals in both kills and points per set, averaging 3.13 terminations and 3.50 points per set a year ago, junior right-side hitter Alleigh Johnson was a go-to offensive option for Queens last season. She recorded double-digit kills in 16 of 29 matches last season, including a career-high 25 as part of a 25-kill, 20-dig double-double, one of two double-doubles in her career. Johnson also returns after ranking ninth in the ASUN in kills per set as she totaled 316 kills—the only Royal to register 175 or more terminations.
 
Stonehill: Leading a balanced Skyhawk offense that featured five players with 100 or more kills, senior outside hitter Jentry Allen posted 201 kills (2.20 per set) and 212.0 points (2.50 per set) last season. In six matches last year, she recorded double-digit kills as she registered a career-high 16 kills and career-high 16 digs against Hartford last September, the first of her two double-doubles against the Hawks.
 
Morehead State: Entering the season as a Preseason All-OVC selection, redshirt junior middle blocker Irene Wogenstahl ranked fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference last season in blocks per set, averaging 1.11 blocks per set, collecting 115 total blocks over 104 sets. On eight occasions, she totaled five or more blocks in a match and set a program record with a career-high 13 blocks—all assists—against Southeast Missouri last November. Offensively, she added 212 kills, including a career-high 21 against Eastern Illinois.
 
Season Preview
USC Upstate begins a new era of Spartan volleyball as the start of a new campaign marks the first under the direction of head coach Ali Skayhan, who took over the reins of the program last December.
 
Skayhan joins the Spartan program following a four-year stint at Wofford—the last three as Associate Head Coach—becoming the third head coach to lead Upstate during the program's Division I era (2007-pres.). Completing her coaching staff, she turned to familiar faces as Justin Sanders and Alex Scharpenberg rounded out the staff, joining Skayhan from Wofford.
 
The Spartans enter the new season with the least roster turnover of any team in the Big South, returning 16 players from last season. The group of 16 returners includes five seniors, five juniors, and six sophomores supplemented by two incoming freshmen, setter Alysha Arroyo (Isabela, Puerto Rico) and outside hitter Alyssa Hook (Boca Raton, Fla.), to comprise an 18-player roster. Upstate is also one of two teams in the league to return six starters, returning five starters plus the team's libero.
 
Averaging 2.24 blocks per set and totaling 228.0 blocks over 102 sets, Upstate ranked third and second, respectively, in the Big South in blocks per set and team total blocks. Leading the defense at the net, senior middle blocker Nikki Deslatte and sophomore middle blocker Ady O'Grady return after tallying 89 (0.92 per set) and 82 (1.02 per set) total blocks, respectively, as the duo represents the second and third leading returners in the conference in blocks per set.
 
In addition to returning their two leading blockers, the Spartans return their leaders in each of the major statistical categories, including the team's kill leader, junior outside hitter Ashleigh Nicoll (229), the team's assists leader, senior setter Emma McElveen (374), the team's service ace leader, Nicoll (20), the team's digs leader, junior libero Julia Gladhill, and the team's hitting percentage leader, O'Grady (.254).
 
UP Next for the Spartans
Following its season-opening trip to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Upstate returns home for a string of matches in the Palmetto State, hosting a pair of matches on Sep. 2 as part of a dual-host tournament with Wofford. The Spartans welcome South Carolina State and Georgia State to the G.B. Hodge Center as part of the event with match times set for 11:00 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET.
 
Connect with the Spartans 
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateVB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateVB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans 
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