ROCK HILL, SC – Junior Rachel Lenz tallied a career-high 11 blocks and a season-high 18 kills Friday but it wasn't enough to carry the Winthrop volleyball team to victory as the Eagles fell in a heartbreaking five-set match to the Presbyterian Blue Hose inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
The loss for the Eagles snapped their eight-match win streak and dropped their record to 12-7 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Presbyterian improved to 7-8 overall and 2-1 in the Big South.
Lenz' stellar night was her first career double-double and the rarely-seen with kills and blocks. Lenz hit .382 for the match with two service aces and four digs. Senior Alina Sopizhuk finished with 12 kills but struggled overall, hitting -.068. Sophomore Brianna Gray also contributed 11 kills and six blocks. Sophomore Kelly Scott had a career-high 49 assists and eight blocks and sophomore Maria Volstad finished with 25 digs.
Winthrop struggled offensively in the opening set, hitting only .043. Despite the offensive struggles, the Eagles led 21-19 late in the set. Presbyterian, however, rattled off six straight points which included four consecutive attack errors by Winthrop to close the set 25-21.
The Eagles shook off the first-set struggles and after an early 4-3 lead, Winthrop went on an 8-1 run, grabbing a 12-4 edge. Presbyterian battled back on an 8-2 run of its own to cut the Eagle advantage to 14-12. Winthrop responded in a big way, closing the set on an 11-4 run, winning the second set 25-16.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to gain quality control. Winthrop took the early 6-3 edge only to see the Blue Hose come back to tie the set at 7-7. The Eagles held their biggest lead at the time of 17-14 before Presbyterian went on a 5-0 run, taking a 19-17 advantage.
Winthrop took a timeout, down two and responded with four straight points, regaining a 21-19 lead. The two sides traded the next four points and the Eagles continued to lead 23-21 as Presbyterian took its second timeout. The break helped the Blue Hose as they tied the set at 23-23 and the teams then traded points with each having opportunities to close out the set. Presbyterian was finally able to break through for two consecutive points to take the third set 28-26.
A stellar fourth-set comeback saw the Eagles overcome a six-point deficit. Winthrop struggled early in the set and trailed 13-7. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the Blue Hose advantage. Still trailing 20-17, Winthrop went on a 6-1 run, taking its first lead of the contest 23-21. Presbyterian pulled one point back but after a Winthrop timeout, the Eagles closed out the set with back-to-back blocks, winning 25-22.
Despite the result, the fifth set was just as thrilling as the first four. Winthrop led 5-3 early before a 7-2 run by the Blue Hose gave them a 10-7 advantage. The Eagles responded with a 3-0 run to tie the set at 10-10 but Presbyterian was able to take five of the last six points to win 15-11.
The Eagles finished with 57 kills but hit only .124 for the match. The team totaled 52 assists and a season-high 94 digs. Winthrop tallied 21 total team blocks, a program record for a five-set match.
Winthrop will have a week off before returning to the court next Friday at 7 p.m. against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
