Tournament Central
ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team returns home for the first time in two weeks this weekend as the Eagles host the Winthrop Invitational.
Winthrop will welcome Bethune-Cookman, UNC-Wilmington and The Citadel to the Winthrop Coliseum for the tournament that starts at 4 p.m. Friday with two matches and continues Saturday with four matches.
The Eagles will face Bethune-Cookman Friday night at 7 p.m. after The Citadel and UNC-Wilmington meet at 4 p.m. Saturday will open with Bethune-Cookman and The Citadel at 10:00 a.m. followed by Winthrop against UNC-Wilmington at 12:30 p.m. The afternoon session starts with Bethune-Cookman against UNC-Wilmington at 4:30 p.m. followed by Winthrop taking on The Citadel at 7 p.m.
After winning seven of its first eight games, Winthrop has now dropped its last two and sits at 7-3 overall. The Eagles downed San Jose State and fell to Pacific and Cal-Riverside last weekend at the Bankers Classic.
Sophomore Rachel Lenz and senior Irene Ojukwu continue to be the major offensive threats for the Eagles, tallying 116 and 108 kills respectively. Lenz is also hitting .378 this season, ranking her second in the Big South. Junior Jessie Vicic leads the team with 454 assists and is 19th in Division I, averaging 11.35 assists per set.
Bethune-Cookman out of Daytona Beach, FL enters the weekend with a 1-10 record, losers of six-straight contests. The Wildcats lone win came against Savannah State in a 3-0 victory. Bethune-Cookman has hit only .091 as a team this season. Sophomore Delicia Pierre leads the Wildcats with 107 kills and a .146 hitting percentage.
UNC-Wilmington enters the weekend winners of four of its last five after falling to Campbell in five sets Wednesday evening. The Seahawks, who are 8-3 overall, won all four matches in their own tournament last weekend over North Carolina A&T, UNC Asheville, Western Carolina and Mercer.
UNC-Wilmington has a team hitting percentage of .213 and is led offensively by Christi Laite who has 156 kills this season through 11 matches. The Seahawks are ranked 14th nationally in blocks per set, averaging 2.83 while Meredith Peacock is ranked sixth nationally with 1.59 blocks per set.
The Citadel is 2-9 on the season, coming off a victory over Gardner-Webb Tuesday night. The Bulldogs only win previously had come over South Carolina State. The Citadel has a balanced attack as three players have more than 50 kills. Bailey Kernodle leads the team with 61 kills. Lauren Hurt is a strong net presence for the Bulldogs, averaging 1.14 blocks per set as the team averages 1.88.
Live stats will be available for all matches in the Winthrop Invitational. Friday night's contest between Winthrop and Bethune-Cookman will be broadcast live on the Big South Network.
Following the weekend tournament the Eagles will enter conference play. Winthrop will open with a home game against Coastal Carolina on Friday, September 27 followed by Charleston Southern on Saturday, September 28.
