ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team picked up a four-set victory Saturday evening over The Citadel Bulldogs after falling in a four-set match to the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on the final day of the Winthrop Invitational.

"Point by point, set by set and match by match, this weekend has been a huge rollercoaster for us," head coach Bruce Atkinson said.  "We must get consistent with what we can control on our side of the net.  Until we are able to do that, every match will be a coin toss for us.

Winthrop's Irene Ojukwu and Alina Sopizhuk were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Citadel (3-11) and Winthrop (10-4) were dead even through the first 20 points of the opening set.  The Bulldogs went on a quick 6-2 run to take a 16-12 advantage.  Winthrop then went on a run of its own, 9-2 to go up 21-18, forcing a Bulldog timeout.  Out of the break The Citadel picked up a few points but couldn't keep the Eagles from winning the first set 25-22.

The second set was a game of runs.  After Winthrop opened the set with a 5-4 edge, the Bulldogs came back with a 5-1 run to take a 9-6 advantage forcing Winthrop to take a timeout.  The two teams traded points after the break and The Citadel continued to lead 15-11 before the Eagles went on a big 9-2 run to take a 20-17 lead, forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout.  The Citadel responded with a 7-3 run to close out the set, winning 25-23 and evening the match 1-1.

Winthrop came out much stronger offensively in the third set, hitting .355 with 16 kills and only five errors.  The Eagles led from the first point and closed the set on a 10-2 run to with 25-14.

The start of the fourth set was another trading of runs.  After the Eagles took a quick 2-0 lead the Bulldogs went on a 7-1 run to take a 7-3 lead.  Winthrop continued to trail by four at 10-6 before the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to grab a 12-10 advantage, forcing The Citadel to take a timeout.  The two teams then traded points and Winthrop was able to get a little separation at 18-15.  The Bulldogs fought back from a 21-17 deficit with a 4-0 run to tie the set at 21-21.  The teams traded points and then Winthrop was able to secure match point at 24-22.  After a Bulldog timeout, The Citadel staved off the loss only briefly as the Eagles won 25-23.

Alina Sopizhuk recorded 20 kills against the Bulldogs while Rachel Lenz and Irene Ojukwu each tallied 12 kills.  Jessie Vicic finished with a double-double with 53 assists and 14 digs.

The first set against the Seahawks (11-3) was a back-and-forth battle through the first 20 points with as UNC-Wilmington held a slim 11-9 lead.  The Seahawks then went on a 5-1 run to open a 16-10 advantage.  Late in the set with UNC-Wilmington holding a 23-18 advantage, Winthrop fought to within one at 24-23, but couldn't complete the comeback as the Seahawks took the final point to win 25-23.

Winthrop led through a majority of the second set.  The Eagles led 17-12 before the Seahawks went on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 17-17.  The two teams then went back and forth and Winthrop had a set point at 24-23, but a service error gave UNC-Wilmington the momentum to take the final two points to win the set 26-24.

UNC-Wilmington looked to be cruising to a three-set victory at the onset of the third set after jumping out to a 6-0 lead.  Winthrop slowly cut down the Seahawk lead and eventually tied the match at 15-15.  The two teams traded points and UNC-Wilmington tried to put the match away up 23-20, but Winthrop held, taking four straight points to go up 24-23 and eventually take the set 26-24. 

Winthrop wasn't able to muster much momentum from its third-set victory to start the fourth set as the teams traded points back and forth.  The Eagles were down only one at 11-10, but UNC-Wilmington went on a 14-5 tear to end the set to win the match 3-1.

Irene Ojukwu led all hitters with 17 kills.  Alina Sopizhuk and Rachel Lenz each tallied 10 kills.  Sopizhuk recorded a double-double with 10 digs.  Jessie Vicic just missed a double-double with 50 assists and nine digs. 

Winthrop will open conference play next Friday, September 27 at home against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at 7 p.m.