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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
OliviaRyno
Ethan Neal
3
Winner Radford Rad 8-12,4-2 Big South
2
USC Upstate USCU 11-8,4-2 Big South
Winner
Radford Rad
8-12,4-2 Big South
3
Final
2
USC Upstate USCU
11-8,4-2 Big South
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Radford Rad 25 25 12 18 16 (3)
USC Upstate USCU 20 17 25 25 14 (2)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Volleyball Holds On, Wins Big South Road Opener and Fourth Straight

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Radford volleyball program staved off a big USC Upstate rally Friday night in their conference road opener, holding on to defeat the Spartans in five sets behind big performances from Olivia Ryno, Rylee Sloss, Taryn Roberts and Kennedy Robinson.
 
KEY STATS
  • Sloss' 16 kills are a new career high as she also led the Highlanders with a blistering .429 attack percentage.
  • Ryno continued her streak of five straight Big South matches with 10+ kills, finishing with a team-high 18.
  • Subbing in late in the fourth set, Robinson made her season debut and made an immediate impact tallying six kills and five digs down the stretch.
  • Radford's first, second and fifth sets saw hitting clips over .250, with struggles coming in sets three and four where they hit .026 and .065 respectively.
  • Radford's four-match winning streak is their longest since 2018 when they won eight straight.
  • The win snaps USC Upstate's own four-game winning streak.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
Trailing early in the first set, the turning point in grabbing the early lead for Radford came after a timeout while trailing 12-8. Out of that timeout, the Highlanders renewed their attack and got a big 5-1 run to tie the set with kills from Roberts and Aubrey Hatch.
 
After Radford slimly took their first set lead at 17-16, USC Upstate called a timeout of their own. The Highlanders didn't slow down as Sloss and Roberts continued to fire. Roberts recorded three of Radford's last four points from kills to take set one 25-20.
 
Radford's offense continued to roll in set two as misfires by the USC Upstate side continued to mount. Down 8-10, Radford got its first big run of the set. Sloss, Miller and Ryno combined for a trio of kills with some help from Spartan miscues for a 7-1 run that put Radford up 14-11.
 
Up 16-14, the Highlanders kept rolling working through another timeout for another big 7-0 run that blew the set open. After Jackeline Nerro ended the run with two straight aces, it was Sloss who sealed the deal with two more kills to hand Radford the 25-17 second set win.
 
The Highlanders third and fourth sets saw struggles abound as USC Upstate came out with a new energy. Right away in set three Radford went down by a 16-5 margin that was just too much to overcome. The Spartans opened the fourth set similarly with an 11-1 lead. Backed into a corner, Radford looked to gain some momentum before the match came down to another fifth set. The Highlanders didn't go away quietly and got some late runs to fall just 25-18 in the fourth set.
 
Setting up for the winner-take-all fifth set, Radford couldn't afford another big run given up. The Highlanders did just that but were locked in an intense back and forth final set. As they had all match, Sloss and Ryno provided big kills down the stretch while Robinson also brought some big kills down the stretch in her first appearance of the season.
 
After going up 9-7, USC Upstate rattled off a 4-1 run that threatened Radford's fate in the match. Now battling from behind, Radford kept the pace as both squads called late timeouts to boost the intensity. Trailing 13-12, Radford got a kill from Sloss before going down 14-13. Out of a timeout, Sloss picked up another big kill that forced a deuce. A Spartans attack error gave Radford an edge they took full advantage of, as Lea Gage sealed the match with an ace winning set five 16-14.
 
UP NEXT
Radford continues their road stretch with a visit to UNC Asheville set for tomorrow, October 18th. Action kicks off at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD VOLLEYBALL
For all the latest on Radford Volleyball, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordVB), Instagram (@radfordvb), and "like" the team's official Facebook Page (Radford Volleyball).
 
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