SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate volleyball returns to the road this weekend for a pair of Big South Conference matchups, traveling to Presbyterian on Friday, Nov. 6, before closing the weekend against Charleston Southern on Saturday, Nov. 7. Both contests are scheduled for 6 p.m. first serves.
The Spartans enter the weekend at 9-13 overall and 2-9 in conference play after splitting their most recent home matches, falling to Winthrop before earning a five-set victory over Gardner-Webb. Upstate will look to carry the momentum from its win over the Runnin’ Bulldogs into an important weekend of conference competition.
Summer Kohler leads the Spartans offensively with 276 kills, averaging 3.45 per set, while Kensley Haneline ranks second with 205 kills and leads the team with a .297 hitting percentage. Sophia Spivey has added 148 kills, while Savannah Page has contributed 124.
Kamyla Vega David directs the Upstate offense with 544 assists, averaging 7.06 per set. Defensively, Sophia Overholt leads the Spartans with 338 digs (4.07 per set), while Road Murray anchors the net with 81 total blocks, including 13 solo stops. Murray also leads Upstate with 21 service aces.
PRESBYTERIAN
Friday, Nov. 6 | 6 p.m. | Clinton, S.C.
Presbyterian enters Friday’s matchup at 8-17 overall and 2-9 in Big South play. The Blue Hose previously defeated the Spartans in four sets in Spartanburg on Oct. 10, taking the match by scores of 25-19, 25-22, 20-25 and 25-22.
Individually, Emma McHatten leads the Blue Hose offensively, averaging 3.00 kills per set, while Courtney Williams has been efficient at the net with a .341 hitting percentage. Anisa
Dorlouis directs the Presbyterian offense, averaging 7.88 assists per set, and also contributes 3.51 digs per set. Defensively, Celimar Hoyos leads the Big South with 4.83 digs per set, while Meredith Reisman anchors the front line with 1.03 blocks per set. Brittney Daphnis and Courtney Williams also provide a strong blocking presence for the Blue Hose.
Upstate will need to find ways to attack around Presbyterian’s blocking presence while limiting offensive errors. The Spartans will also look to improve upon their offensive production from the first meeting, when they finished with a .114 hitting percentage.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Saturday, Nov. 7 | 6 p.m. | Charleston, S.C.
The Spartans close the weekend against Charleston Southern, which enters the matchup at 11-13 overall and 3-8 in conference action. The Buccaneers dropped their most recent contests against Radford and High Point but remain a dangerous offensive opponent.
Charleston Southern has totaled 1,128 kills this season while hitting .194 as a team. The Buccaneers average 12.3 kills, 11.6 assists and 15.1 digs per set while producing 1.6 service aces per set.
Brynn Minter leads the Buccaneers with 294 kills, averaging 3.27 per set. Faith Burch follows with 233 kills and a .250 hitting percentage, while Emma Bednarek has contributed 117 kills while leading the team with a .307 hitting percentage. Tristin Sutton directs the offense with 537 assists.
Upstate earned a convincing sweep over Charleston Southern in the first meeting on Oct. 9, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-17. The Spartans limited the Buccaneers to a .086 hitting percentage in that contest while recording a .267 mark offensively.
Source: upstatespartans.com
