BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Coming off a three-match homestand and facing a Big South Conference foe for the first time in 2024, USC Upstate volleyball kept up its winning ways as it earned its fourth consecutive sweep, capturing its sixth straight victory as it downed Gardner-Webb Friday evening.
 
Behind their sweep of the Runnin' Bulldogs, the Spartans won their conference opener for the third straight season—defeating three separate league foes over the three seasons, sweeping said opener for the second consecutive season. Upstate's winning streak at six matches marks the program's longest since winning six straight spanning the 2020 (one match) and 2021 (five matches) seasons.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 3; Gardner-Webb 0 (25-18; 25-15; 25-19)
Records: USC Upstate (6-8; 1-0 Big South); Gardner-Webb (2-13; 0-1 Big South)
Location: Paul Porter Arena | Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
How It Happened
Leading to its Big South opening victory, Upstate secured its third consecutive match hitting .250 better, posting a .257 hitting efficiency behind a balanced offensive effort. Senior outside hitter Ashleigh Nicoll paced the team's offense with a season-best 11 kills, the lone Spartan in double-figures, fashioning a .267 hitting percentage.
 
Finishing with seven kills apiece, junior middle blocker Ady O'Grady and junior right-side hitter Savannah Page slotted behind Nicoll in the box score, hitting .312 and .353, respectively in the match. Graduate student outside hitter Allison Palmi added six kills.
 
Directing the Spartan offense, freshman setter Kamyla Vega David registered her seventh straight match with 30-plus assists, finishing with 32 in the three-set affair.
 
Pressing Gardner-Webb in service and keeping the Runnin' Bulldogs out of system throughout the night, the Spartans landed eight service aces Friday. The match stands as the fourth this season for Upstate with eight or more winners. Senior libero Julia Gladhill and Palmi combined for six of the team's eight service aces, recording three each with Palmi's total tying a career-high in the category.
 
Defensively, Upstate held the Runnin' Bulldogs to a .096 hitting efficiency, turning in 5.0 team total blocks and 43 digs. Friday's match marked the fourth in the team's six-match winning streak to see the Spartans' opponent post a hitting percentage lower than .100. Junior middle blocker Alona Clinansmith led the Spartan block with three total blocks (one solo and two assists) while Gladhill led the floor defense with 13 digs.
 
Notable

• Picking up its fourth consecutive sweep, Upstate improved its winning streak to six matches, the longest winning streak under head coach Ali Skayhan. The streak marks the program's longest winning streak since taking six straight matches from the 2020 to 2021 seasons.
• The Spartans' four straight sweeps also mark the longest such streak for the program since its aforementioned six-match winning streak during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
• Defeating Gardner-Webb in its Big South Conference opener, Upstate has won its league opener for the third straight season. The Runnin' Bulldogs are the third different program to be defeated in the opener over the past three seasons, joining Presbyterian in 2022 and UNC Asheville in 2023.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Continuing its two-match jaunt to begin Big South play, Upstate heads to Winthrop Saturday for a 2 p.m. ET first serve.
 
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