RADFORD, Va. – Opening the team's longest road trip of the season, USC Upstate volleyball exacted a bit of revenge as it pushed its winning streak to three and moved above .500 in Big South Conference play for the first time this season Friday night. The Spartans withstood a Highlander threat that tied the match after two sets by controlling sets three and four, leaving with a four-set victory and the program's first victory at the Dedmon Center.
 
For the fourth straight match, Upstate began with a set victory before seeing its opponent counter and tie the match with a win in set two. Friday, the first and second sets saw 19 total ties and seven lead changes before the Spartans took control in the final two frames—stanzas that saw just three ties and no lead changes. Upstate led wire-to-wire in the third and fourth sets, capturing its second straight four-set win.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 3; Radford 1 (25-22; 24-26; 25-15; 25-18)
Records: USC Upstate (9-11; 4-3 Big South); Radford (7-11; 4-3 Big South)
Location: Dedmon Center | Radford, Va.
 
How It Happened
Continuing a stretch of matches seeing junior right-side hitter Savannah Page and fifth-year senior outside hitter Ali Jansen exceed their season-high kill totals, pushing the streak to five matches for Page and three for Jansen, the pair led Upstate offensively versus Radford. The pair combined for 29 kills and a .324 hitting efficiency with Page tallying 15 kills and Jansen 15 kills and each collecting a six-kill set.
 
Providing a spark for the Spartans in the latter two sets, senior outside hitter Ashleigh Nicoll totaled eight kills between the third and fourth periods. Fashioning a .227 hitting percentage on the evening, she crafted a .300 hitting efficiency in sets three and four.
 
Freshman setter Kamyla Vega David paced the Upstate offense to the tune of a .224 hitting percentage—the fourth consecutive match with the offense hitting greater than .200—and 46 total assists. Her fifth straight match with 40-plus assists also pushed her streak of double-doubles to six as she picked up 20 digs to complement her setting total.
 
Joining Vega David in scooping up 20-plus balls, senior libero Julia Gladhill led all Spartans with 26 digs while adding four assists and one service ace on the night. Freshman defensive specialist Hannah Campell collected 11 balls, creating a trio of Spartans with double-figure digs.
 
In front of the team's floor defense, Upstate's netminders tallied 7.0 team total blocks. Leading the way, junior middle blocker Ady O'Grady recorded five total blocks with one solo block and four block assists.
 
Notable

• With its victory Friday night, USC Upstate earned its first victory at Radford in the history of the team's series with the Highlanders.
• The Spartan's victory over Radford also marked the first "unofficial" victory for assistant coach Justin Sanders who helmed the team in the match.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Closing the team's final two-match road swing, Upstate treks to High Point Saturday afternoon. The Spartans meet the Panthers for a 2 p.m. ET first serve.
 
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