Box Score Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team ended the regular season Friday night on a high note as the Eagles brought down Presbyterian College in straight sets (25-18, 25-14, 25-19) on Senior Night at the Winthrop Coliseum. The victory guarantees at least a co-regular season championship as Liberty fell to Gardner-Webb tonight.
The Eagles closed out the regular season with an overall record of 19-7 and a 12-2 mark in the conference. PC ends its season at 13-17 on the season and 7-7 in the Big South. Winthrop could earn the Big South title outright if Liberty loses its final match at UNC Asheville on Saturday.
Redshirt junior
Brittany Blackman played her last match at the Winthrop Coliseum and made it a memorable night as she paced the Eagles with 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Senior
Becca Toor managed four kills on the night, as the PC defense kept her in check.
“Blackman had a great match tonight,” head coach Julie Torbett said. “She was open tonight since they were keying on Becca the whole night. We were able to capitalize.”
Defensively, three Eagles found themselves with double-digit digs as sophomore setter
Stephanie Palmer led the team with 12. Palmer also dished out 22 assists as she was two kills short of her third triple-double. Following Palmer was freshman libero
Catherine Brusie tallied 11, as junior defensive specialist
Kristin Cruse totaled 10. Winthrop also added 8 total team blocks at the net.
“It means a lot,” Blackman said on winning her last home match as an Eagle. “I wanted to go out with a bang.”
The Eagles took command early in the opening set taking a 13-6 lead, forcing the Blue Hose to regroup. Winthrop continued to pressure as the Eagles finished the set with a .467 hitting percentage, winning 25-18. The offense finished with 16 kills as Blackman pounded five of them, leading the team.
Presbyterian College came out strong in the second set, taking a quick 7-3 lead. The Eagles came back strong within the set coming within two points at the 11-9 mark. Winthrop rallied off seven straight points and controlled the rest of the set as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead, 25-14. Weed closed out the set with seven kills as the defense tallied 17 digs.
The Eagles stormed out in final set, as Mullins found the floor with four kills to lead Winthrop to the set victory and the match, 25-19. The team finished with 14 kills and a .238 hitting percentage in the set.
While this was the last home match for Toor and Blackman, the duo hopes to have at least four more matches in their careers as they lead the Eagles to North Charleston, SC for the Big South Conference Championship Tournament that gets underway on Thursday. The pairings for the tournament will be announced by the conference office on Sunday, Nov. 13.
