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STOCKTON, CA – The Winthrop volleyball team fell to Cal-Riverside and host Pacific Saturday on the final day of the Bankers Classic.
Winthrop (7-3) struggled offensively in its first match against Pacific Saturday, recording its lowest hitting percentage of the season at .120. Rachel Lenz was the only Eagle to notch double-digit kills with 12. Maria Volstad led the team with nine digs while Jessie Vicic finished with 26 assits.
The Eagles fell behind quickly 7-1 in the first set, but battled back to get within one at 12-11. Pacific responded with an 8-3 run to go up 20-14 en route to the 25-18 first-set victory.
In the first set, Winthrop stayed close to start, training only 12-9. The Tigers then allowed the Eagles only four more points as they closed the set with a 13-4 run to take the second set 25-13.
The Eagles again stayed close at the beginning of the third set, but couldn't put together a positive whole set. Pacific led by only one at 8-7 before going on a 10-4 run to open an 18-11 lead. Winthrop wasn't able to overcome the deficit, falling 25-16.
The late game for Winthrop, the first set between the Eagles and the Highlanders was extremely hard-fought as neither team was able edge out more than a three-point lead. Cal-Riverside led for the majority of the set before Winthrop took its first lead at 21-20. The Eagles never allowed Cal-Riverside to have a set point as Winthrop took the first set 28-26.
The second set was another back-and-forth battle with neither team again holding more than a three-point edge. Winthrop took the early lead only to see Cal-Riverside battle back. The Eagles trailed 24-22, staved off two set points and had one of their own, but couldn't put away the set. The match was again tied three more time before the Highlanders took a 29-27 victory.
A rollercoaster of the third set saw Cal-Riverside control the beginning of the set, Winthrop control the middle and the Highlanders to come back to finish the set. Cal-Riverside took an early 5-1 lead. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually hit their largest lead of the set at 17-14. The two teams were tied at 23-23 before the Highlanders took the final two points.
Cal-Riverside again came out hot to start the fourth set. The Highlanders grabbed an early 5-1 lead, hit its largest lead at 10-5 and continued to lead 15-11, forcing Winthrop into a timeout. The Eagles fought back to tie the set at 21-21, but couldn't continue their momentum out of a Cal-Riverside timeout as the Highlanders took four of the next five points to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Rachel Lenz recorded her second double-digit kill total of the day with 17. Alina Sopizhuk finished with 13 kills while Irene Ojukwu recorded 12. Sopizhuk also finished with 13 kills which tied her for the team lead with Maria Volstad. Jessie Vicic finished with 54 assits.
Winthrop will return home next weekend to host the Winthrop Invitational. The Eagles will welcome Bethune-Cookman, UNC-Wilmington and The Citadel.
