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ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team fell 3-1 Friday evening to the Presbyterian Blue Hose in Big South Conference action.

Winthrop got off to a strong start which allowed the Eagles to lead throughout the first set.  After an early 3-0 lead, Presbyterian got back within 4-3 before Winthrop went on a 5-1 run to grab a 9-4 advantage.  The Blue Hose got within one at 16-15, but never got close as the Eagles took the first set 25-21.

Presbyterian came out as the aggressor to start the second set, using an early 5-1 run to open a 7-3 lead over the Eagles.  The Blue Hose increased their lead to five at 14-9, but a 7-1 run by the Eagles gave them their first lead of the set at 16-15.  The two teams then went back and forth trading single points before Winthrop came up with set point at 24-23.  Presbyterian fought off the Winthrop set point and scored three straight to take the second set 26-24.

The third set was very close throughout with 16 tie scores and eight lead changes.  After a tie score of 11-11, Presbyterian went up 14-11.  Winthrop responded with a 4-0 run to go back up 15-14.  Back and forth the two teams went and the Blue Hose grabbed a 19-17 lead, forcing Winthrop into a timeout.  Out of the break Winthrop tied the set at 19-19 and then took a 22-21 lead, sending Presbyterian into a timeout.  Out of the timeout, the Blue Hose took four straight points to win the third set 25-22.

The fourth set loss was a tough one for the Eagles as they got out to an early 7-3 lead.  Presbyterian battled back to tie the set at 9-9, but Winthrop responded to go back up 15-12, forcing the Blue Hose into a timeout.  The timeout worked again for Presbyterian as it was able to tie the set at 15-15 before taking an 18-16 edge.  After that, mistakes by the Eagles allowed the Blue Hose to open a 23-19 lead.  Winthrop wasn't done yet as blocking came to life briefly to get the Eagles to points to get within 23-22, but couldn't bring them any further as Presbyterian took the last two points to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

Winthrop fell to 7-10 overall and 1-2 in the conference with the loss while Presbyterian improved to 5-13 overall and 2-1 in the Big South.  The loss was the first for the Eagles all-time at home against the Blue Hose.

Rachel Lenz, Jennica Mullins and Stephanie Palmer each tallied 11 kills to lead the team.  Palmer recorded her third triple-double of the season by adding 31 assists and 10 digs.  Mullins finished with seven total blocks as well.

The Eagles will be off for the next week before they continue their homestand next Friday at 7:00 p.m. against the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville.  Friday's contest will be the team's annual “Dig for the Cure” night.  All fans wearing pink will get free admission.