STOCKTON, CA – The Winthrop volleyball survived a furious comeback by the San Jose State Spartans Friday, picking up a 3-2 victory in the first game of the Bankers Classic hosted by the University of the Pacific.

Winthrop improved to 7-1 overall on the season while San Jose State fell to 2-6.

The Eagles were led by senior Irene Ojukwu who finished with 16 kills.  Freshman Hjordis Eiriksdottir picked up 14 kills and a team-high .355 hitting percentage while fellow freshman Alina Sopihzuk tallied 12 kills.  Sopihzuk also finished with 16 digs while freshman Maria Volstad led the team with 19.  Junior Jessie Vicic led the team with 52 assists.

Winthrop had to fight for a tough first-set victory as the score changed hands three times with 10 ties.  The Eagles squeaked out a 25-23 victory.  In the second set San Jose state took an early lead only to see Winthrop fight back with two late runs to take a 25-23 victory again.

San Jose State dominated the third and fourth sets picking up 25-19 and 25-16 victories respectively.

Winthrop responded in a big way in the fifth and final set.  After a 7-7 tie in the final set the Eagles went on an 8-4 run to take the final set 15-11 and the match 3-2.

The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Pacific at 3 p.m. EST and Cal-Riverside at 8 p.m. EST.