ROCK HILL, S.C. – On the road looking to improve its positioning in the Big South Conference standings as league play hits its third week, USC Upstate volleyball improved its winning streak to three, pulling off the reverse sweep of Winthrop Friday evening. The win is significant as it marks the Spartans' first victory over the Eagles since Oct. 8, 2021, and the program's first victory against Winthrop in Rock Hill since Oct. 22, 1983
 
Winning via reverse sweep, Upstate pulled off its first victory when facing a two-set deficit since Sep. 13, 2019, when it defeated Norfolk State in five sets. The Spartans turned around the game's momentum late in the third set, reversing their fortunes behind a season-long 10-point scoring run to erase an eight-point Winthrop advantage at the 14-22 mark of the stanza.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 3; Winthrop 2 (17-25; 23-25; 25-23; 28-26; 15-13)
Records: USC Upstate (10-7; 3-1 Big South); Winthrop (8-6; 2-2 Big South)
Location: Winthrop Coliseum | Rock Hill, S.C.
 
How It Happened
Leading to its first reverse sweep in over six years, Upstate leaned on its gritty brand of volleyball and a balanced attack, seeing successes in all phases of the game. For the second time in as many Friday night matches, the Spartans recorded 55-plus kills, 75-plus digs, 10.0-plus total blocks, and seven-plus service aces as a team.
 
Captaining the team's back line, freshman libero Sophia Overholt surpassed 30-plus digs for the first time in her young career, scooping up a career-best 31 balls. Her total ties for the tenth-most in a single match in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.) and stand as the program's D1 era single-match record for digs by a freshman. Of her 31 digs, 12 came in the third set, crucial in helping Upstate turn the momentum.
 
Two additional Spartans closed the match with double-digit digs as sophomore setter Kamyla Vega David and sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Campbell dug up 16 and 10 balls, respectively.
 
Complementing her 16 digs, Vega David notched her sixth 50-plus assist match of the year, passing out 53 apples to complete her 11^th double-double of the season. Over the final two sets, she led Upstate to a .246 combined hitting efficiency up from its .134 efficiency in sets one through three.
 
For the seventh straight match, senior middle blocker and Big South kills leader Ady O'Grady marked down 17 terminations. Behind her on the box score, freshman outside hitter Summer Kohler added 14 kills while freshman middle blocker Kensley Haneline contributed 13.
 
At the net, Haneline and O'Grady combined for 11 total blocks amongst the pair, seeing Haneline turn away six shots and O'Grady five. On the service line, Campbell landed a team-best three winners.
 
Notable

• Collecting 31 digs against Winthrop, Sophia Overholt's total ties for the 10^th most in a single match in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.). Her total also stands as the best single-match total by a freshman in the D1 era.
• Picking up a pair of kills in the match's first set, Summer Kohler pushed her season kill total to 200, becoming the first Spartan freshman to hit the 200-kill threshold in a season since Lily Dempsey in 2017.
• Recording five total blocks, two solo blocks and three block assists, Ady O'Grady improved her career total blocks number to 315. She ties former Spartan Morgan Thomas (2008-11) for second on the Division I era (2007-pres.) leaderboard in the category.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Concluding the weekend, Upstate returns to action Saturday afternoon at Gardner-Webb. The Spartans and Runnin' Bulldogs see first serve set for 2 p.m. ET.
 
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