VOLLEYBALL PICKS UP FOUR SET VICTORY OVER USC UPSTATE

Saturday, September 22

Spartanburg, S.C.

5:00 PM

Radford University

10-1, 2-0Big South

USC Upstate

3-12, 0-2Big South

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Radford	25	24	25	25	3
USC Upstate	14	26	20	22	1

VOLLEYBALL PICKS UP FOUR SET VICTORY OVER USC UPSTATE

9/22/2018 7:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Follow @RadfordVB

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Radford volleyball team picked up its 10^th win of the season in a four-set victory over USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday evening.

The Highlanders tallied 66 kills and had four players with double-digit kills. Mallory McKnight led all players with 19, while Stephanie Neast was not far behind with 18 - both season highs. Valerie Gonzalez added 12, while Kylie Tuxford added 10 off the bench. McKnight hit .708, while Neast hit .533. Tuxford's 10 kills all came after the second set. She had a .318 hitting percentage.

SET 1
The Highlanders jumped out to a 10-0 lead as McKnight and Neast carried the team with a combined five kills during the run. Lily Dempsey got USC Upstate on the board with a kill. The Highlanders kept the 10-point cushion throughout the set. The Spartans cut the lead to as low as eight, 19-11 but Radford went on to take the first set 25-14.

SET 2
The second set was a nail biter that came down to the very end. Radford took an early 6-3 lead but Upstate kept battling back and tied the set at 16. The Spartans eventually took a 23-21 lead, but an Amaya Rousseau kill and a bad set by Madison Haake tied the set at 23. After a USC Upstate timeout, two errors by each team tied it at 24. A kill by Emily Russell and an attack error gave USC Upstate a 26-24 second set victory.

SET 3
Just like it did in the opening set, Radford used an 8-0 run to open the set. The lead continued to increase and the Highlanders led 13-3. However, a few mini runs by the Spartans made it too close for comfort. USC Upstate cut the Highlanders lead to three 18-15, but Radford went on to take a two set lead, 25-20.

SET 4
The Highlanders had to come-from-behind in the final set. USC Upstate took an 11-6 advantage in the early going and increased that lead to six, 14-8. The Highlanders knew they needed to pick up the pace and did just that. A 9-3 run led the Highlanders to a 17-17 tie. Each team was neck-and-neck and traded points. With the set tied at 20, a pair of Tuxford kills gave Radford a 22-20 lead. The Spartans cut it to one on two different occasions, but the Highlanders never lost the lead.

MOMENT THAT MATTERED
The Highlanders scored eight straight points to begin the third set, which gave Radford momentum in the final two sets. Radford outscored USC Upstate 50-42 in the final two sets.

STAT OF THE MATCH
The Highlanders totaled 66 kills in the match, which are 25 more than the Spartans. The 66 kills set a season-high for Radford. The Highlanders piled on the kills and also hit .306 as a team.

TWEET OF THE MATCH

Gameday Matinee in Spartanburg, SC! Join ?@The_CoreyHodges? and Me for ?@UpstateVB? vs. ?@RadfordVB? at 5pm ET on ESPN+ #bigsouth pic.twitter.com/Ta1yrcXC39
— Brock Bowling (@brock_bowling) September 22, 2018

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