BOX SCORE

ROCK HILL, S.C.– Winthrop rallied late in the first set and carried the momentum to a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) over Radford in a contest between the second and third place Big South Volleyball squads, Saturday afternoon from the Winthrop Coliseum.

Sophomore Emily Carlin (Downington, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) paced the Highlanders (11-13, 5-4 Big South) with 10 kills and nine digs, while freshman Rachel Brummitt (Plano, Texas, Plano West) registered a match-best 23 digs.

Becca Toor and Carolyn Weed tallied 15 and 11 kills for the Eagles (14-7, 7-2), while Stephanie Palmer recorded a double-double with a match-high 35 assists, to go along with 10 digs.

Winthrop tallied the last five points of game one to rally past the Highlanders, 25-22. With Radford holding a 22-20 lead, a service error and attack error tied the game at 22 then Toor found the floor three straight times to complete the comeback.

In game two, Winthrop held off a late Radford comeback for a 25-21 victory. The Highlanders opened up a 4-1 lead before the Eagles used a 10-3 run to take the lead (11-7) for good. Radford was able to get within one (13-12) before a 9-3 spurt gave Winthrop a commanding 22-15 advantage.

The Highlanders pushed five straight points, four coming on kills, including two by freshman Rachel Wiechecki (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy), to make it 22-20. However, the Eagles posted three of the final four points, all on Weed kills, to claim a 2-0 advantage.

The Highlanders fell behind 11-3 in game three and were unable to mount a comeback as they fell, 25-21. Radford was able to get within three on three occasions (15-12, 17-14, 22-19), but Winthrop was able to quell each push with a mini run and clinch the match.

Freshman Emma Deininger (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) chipped in with eight kills, while junior Emily Hayes (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and Wiechecki added seven kills apiece. Wiechecki and senior Leigh Myers (Baton Rouge, La./The Dunham School) each notched eight digs.

Radford heads to first-place Liberty next Friday for a contest with the Lady Flames at 7 p.m.