HIGH POINT, N.C. – On the road facing the penultimate road match of the team's season, USC Upstate volleyball showed its resolve as it took High Point to a fifth set for just the second time in series history Friday night. Seeing their foe take the first set for the second time in the season series, the Spartans responded, winning each of the next two sets to regain the lead. However, the Panthers provided a response of their own, ultimately, outlasting Upstate in the fifth and final stanza.
 
Game Information
Score: High Point 3; USC Upstate 2 (25-22; 23-25; 18-25; 25-11; 15-7)
Records: USC Upstate (12-11; 5-5 Big South); High Point (12-9; 8-2 Big South)
Location: Millis Center | High Point, N.C.
 
How It Happened
After finding success in the team's first meeting with High Point, tying her career-high with 19 kills, freshman outside hitter Summer Kohler continued her success in the Panthers, surpassing her first performance with a career-high 22 kills Friday evening. The match-high total stands tied for the fifth most in a single match in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.) and the second most in a single match by a freshman in the era.
 
Jockeying for position atop the Big South's kills leaderboard for much of the season, battling redshirt senior middle blocker Ady O'Grady, who offered 12 of her own kills against High Point, Kohler reclaimed the top spot, ending the night with 311 kills on the campaign. The total passes that of former Spartan Kayla Eversgerd (307 in 2012) for the most by a freshman in a single season in the D1 era, standing as the sixth most by an Upstate freshman in program history.
 
O'Grady's 12 kills on the night also helped her crest the 300-kill plateau on the season, making the 2025 campaign the first since 2012 to feature multiple 300-plus kill attackers. Freshman right-side hitter Kensley Haneline added 11 kills, giving Upstate a trio of attackers with double-digit kills. Pacing the team's offense, sophomore setter Kamyla Vega David dished out 44 assists.
 
Defensively, freshman libero Sophia Overholt registered her seventh career match with 20 or more digs, collecting a match-high 26 balls Friday—one of four Spartans reaching double-figures. Her total ups her season mark to 376 digs, the second most by a freshman in a season in the D1 era. Joining Overholt in double-figures, Kohler and Vega David each scooped 10 balls, pairing with their kill and assist totals, respectively for their seventh and 13^th double-doubles. Sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Campbell rounded out the quartet with 11 digs.
 
On the service line, five of the team's six primary servers landed at least one ace as Campbell and Vega David each earned two winners to lead the club. At the net, junior middle blocker Cora Hamilton tabbed two total blocks, both solo stuffs.
 
Notable

• Behind a career-high 22 kills, Summer Kohler moved her season kill count to 311, the most by a Spartan freshman in the Division I era (2007-pres.). She moved past former Spartan Kayla Eversgerd (307 in 2012), putting Kohler sixth in program history for kills by a freshman. Jolene Person with 376 kills in 1993, holds the freshman record.
• Also reaching the 300-kill plateau for the Spartans, Ady O'Grady ended the match with 303 kills on the season. With both Kohler and O'Grady north of 300 kills, the 2025 season is the first since 2012 (Kayla McAvoy [345] and Eversgerd [307]) to feature multiple attackers with 300 or more kills.
• Digging 26 balls against the Panthers, Sophia Overholt upped her season dig total to 376, passing teammate Kamyla Vega David (373 in 2024) for the second most by an Upstate freshman in a season in the D1 era. Overholt needs five digs to pass former Spartan Megan Healey (380 in 2007) for the D1 era mark, a total that would rank fifth most by a freshman in program history for a single season.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Returning to action and wrapping the team's season-long four-match road swing, Upstate faces Radford Saturday afternoon. Match time is set for 2 p.m. ET.
 
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