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Chattanooga Box Score

KENNESAW, GA – The Winthrop volleyball team spilt its final two matches of the Owls Invitational on Saturday night as the Eagles defeated the Chattanooga Mocs in five sets (25-18, 26-28, 25-17, 26-28, 15-11), but earlier falling to Oral Roberts in five sets (22-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 15-9) at the KSU Convocation Center.

The spilt brings the Eagles to 4-2 on the season, the best start for the program since 2006 when Winthrop started 5-1. 

“We showed this week that we will not give up,” head coach Julie Torbett said. “We will continue to work harder and get better.”

In the match against the Mocs, senior middle hitter Becca Toor led the Eagles with 15 kills. Behind Toor was freshman middle blocker Jennica Mullins and redshirt junior right side Brittany Blackman who posted nine kills each. Blackman led the Eagles with a .368 attacking percentage. Defensively, Winthrop turned to freshman libero Catherine Brusie as she led the Eagles with 24 digs. A pair of freshmen outside hitters tallied nine digs, as Lauren Landsman and Delaney Forsythe helped the Eagles defense. Sophomore setter Stephanie Palmer dished out 43 assists.

“We got consistent performances from Catherine Brusie and Becca Toor,” Torbett said. “And there were bright spots in Stephanie Palmer and Brittany Blackman.”

The Eagles started quickly as they went on a 10-6 run to start the match, forcing the Mocs to adjust, as Winthrop took the opening set, 25-18. The set was capped off by Brusie service ace, as the Eagles finished the set with four blocks; Palmer led the team with three. Chattanooga committed nine errors in the set.

In the second set, Chattanooga got off to a fast start, taking their biggest lead at the 12-8 mark. The Eagles bounced back, forcing a tie at 15-15. From that point, teams traded points throughout the rest of the set, setting up a 26-26 deadlock. A kill by Chattanooga's Jessi Blackstock and an attacking error by Blackman gave the Mocs the win, 28-26. The Eagles finished the set with 17 kills.

Winthrop got off a fast start in the third, going to on a 17-10 run from the start of the set. The Mocs could not find an answer in the set as they totaled just seven kills on 11 errors for an attacking percentage of -.129.

The fourth set saw 11 ties as the teams traded points to a 25-25 deadlock. Back-to-back kills from Chattanooga's Ellie Kuhn captured the set for the Mocs, 28-26. Chattanooga finished the set with 20 kills compared to Winthrop's 12.

The Eagles came out quickly in the final set, as they started with a 5-0 run, making the Mocs search for an answer to the Eagles offense. Winthrop kept up its lead throughout the set, despite a late run by Chattanooga, and took the set and the match, 15-11. Winthrop ended the final set with seven kills, including two each from Toor, Blackman and Palmer.

Chattanooga was led by Kuhn with 21 kills, as defensively the Mocs were paced by Melissa Green who finished the match with 22 digs. Chattanooga ended the match with 58 kills, 73 digs and a .112 hitting percentage.

In the match against ORU, leading the way for the Eagles once again was Toor as she ended this afternoon's match with 20 kills, seven digs, five blocks and a .341 attacking percentage. Forsythe finished with 10 kills, the first time in her collegiate career that she has posted double-digit kills, as the Eagles finished with 52 kills for the match. Defensively, Brusie totaled 23 digs, Landsman tallied 16 digs and Palmer added 39 assists.

In the opening set, the Eagles fell behind early, as Oral Roberts took a 16-11 lead. Winthrop regrouped and tied the set at the 20-20 mark. Back-to-back aces by Palmer highlighted Winthrop's victory in the first set, 25-22.

The teams swapped points in the second set to the 11-11 mark. Winthrop's offense came alive and took a convincing lead at the 21-15 mark, but Oral Roberts stormed back into the set, forcing a tie at the 24-24 mark. A kill from Toor and an attacking error by ORU's Sheina Fernandes gave the Eagles the set, 26-24. Toor led the Eagles in the set with eight kills as Brusie tallied 13 digs.

The third set saw Oral Roberts take an early lead and the Golden Eagles never looked back. Winthrop fell victim to nine errors and finished the set with an attacking percentage of .060. ORU took the set, 25-19.

In the fourth set, the Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead once again. There was a tie early on at the 3-3 mark, but ORU took command of the set and rolled 25-22. To this point, the Eagles offense continued to struggle, posting 11 kills and 10 errors for a .026 hitting percentage.

The final set saw a repeat of the last three as ORU started on a 4-0 run. Winthrop bounced back this time, bringing the set within one at the 5-4 mark, but the Golden Eagle offense was too much as they captured the set and the match 15-9. Oral Roberts ended the final set with 10 kills and .400 hitting percentage that proved too much for the Eagles defense.

ORU was paced by Tatum Fredeen and Elizabeth McVicker with 21 and 19 kills respectively. Defensively, four ORU players ended the match with double-digit digs led by Bruna Silva with 25.

Winthrop will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 9 as the Eagles will be traveling to the Carolina Challenge in Charleston, SC to take on host, College of Charleston. On Saturday, Sept. 10, Winthrop will be squaring off against Clemson at 10 a.m. and South Carolina at 5 p.m.