Weekend Matchups
Oct. 4, 2024 | 6:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (5-8; 0-0 Big South) vs. Gardner-Webb (2-12; 0-0 Big South)
Paul Porter Arena | Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
Oct. 5, 2024 | 4:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (5-8; 0-0 Big South) vs. Winthrop (3-7; 0-0 Big South)
Winthrop Coliseum | Rock Hill, S.C.
 
How They Stack Up
vs. Gardner-Webb
Records: USC Upstate (5-8; 0-0 Big South); Gardner-Webb (2-12; 0-0 Big South)
Series: USC Upstate leads 11-10
Last Five Meetings: Nov. 3, 2023 (GWU 3; UPST 1); Oct. 14, 2023 (UPST 3; GWU 1); Oct. 29, 2022 (GWU 3; UPST 0); Sep. 29, 2022 (GWU 3; UPST 2); Oct. 29, 2021 (UPST 3; GWU 0)
 
vs. Winthrop
Records: USC Upstate (5-8; 0-0 Big South); Winthrop (3-7; 0-0 Big South)
Series: Winthrop leads 12-2
Last Five Meetings: Nov. 4, 2023 (WIN 3; UPST 1); Oct. 13, 2023 (WIN 3; UPST 0); Nov. 4, 2022 (WIN 3; UPST 0); Oct. 8, 2022 (WIN 3; UPST 0); Oct. 30, 2021 (WIN 3; UPST 0)
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate: With no Big South Conference weekly awards issued last week with the league's slate postponed due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, three Spartans enter the weekend's matches as the reigning league award winners. Graduate student outside hitter Allison Palmi is the reigning Player of the Week, freshman setter Kamyla Vega David is the reigning Setter and Freshman of the Week, and senior libero Julia Gladhill is the reigning Libero of the Week. Palmi leads the Spartans with 134 kills on the season, Vega David ranks second in the Big South with 413 total assists, and Gladhill leads the conference with 242 digs.
 
Gardner-Webb: Ranking second in the league in total digs with 235 over 49 sets, sophomore libero Molly Littlefield leads the Big South in digs per set, averaging 4.80 balls per set. She's picked up double-digit balls in each of her last 13 matches, eclipsing the 20-dig mark thrice and the 30-dig mark once. Her season-high mark of 31 digs versus Lamar are the most in a single-match by a Big South player this season.
 
Winthrop: Passing out 86.6 percent of the Eagles' assists on the season, redshirt junior setter Isabella Murray totals 317 assists in 2024, averaging 9.61 helpers per set. She paces the Big South in assists per set, passing out 30-plus assists on six occasions, including a season-best 50 assists in the season-opener versus Virginia Tech. Her 50 assists against the Hokies are one of three 50-plus assist matches in the Big South this season.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Following the weekend's competition, USC Upstate returns to the G.B. Hodge Center on Oct. 11-12 to conclude a five-in-seven match stretch at home. The Spartans host High Point and Radford with match times set for 6 p.m. ET on Oct. 11 and 4 p.m on Oct. 12, respectively.
 
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