ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team will host Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern this weekend as the Eagles close out the home slate of their 2014 season.
Winthrop enters the weekend with a 15-10 overall record and 5-4 mark in the Big South after a tough road trip through Virginia last weekend. The Eagles are currently fourth in the conference, two games behind Coastal Carolina and only a half-game ahead of Gardner-Webb.
Saturday's contest against Charleston Southern will be senior day for two Eagles. Alina Sopizhuk and Jessie Vicic, both two-year starters for Winthrop, will be honored prior to the start of the match.
Sopizhuk has been a consistent offensive force for the Eagles, leading the team with 278 kills and is ninth in the conference, averaging 3.12 kills per set.
Vicic has shared setting duties this season with Kelly Scott but still leads the team with 623 assists, averaging just shy of eight assists per set. She also averages better than two digs per set and has recorded eight double-doubles this season.
The Eagles will entertain Coastal Carolina on Friday evening at 7 p.m. The Chanticleers enter the weekend in second place in the conference with a 7-2 record in the Big South and an 18-5 mark overall. Winthrop defeated Coastal Carolina in the team's first conference contest of the season 3-1.
In the first meeting between the Eagles and Chanticleers, Leah Hardeman led all players with 22 kills, committing only four errors with a .400 attack percentage. Alina Sopizhuk led the Eagles with 14 kills while Brianna Gray totaled eight blocks in the victory.
Winthrop will host Charleston Southern on Saturday at 4 p.m. for Senior Day. The Buccaneers will play at Presbyterian on Friday and enter the weekend at 1-8 in the Big South and 11-17 overall.
Earlier this season, the Eagles downed Charleston Southern 3-1 after dropping the opening set. Winthrop had three players notch double-digit kills in the first meeting, led by Sopizhuk with 12 to go along with 10 digs. The Buccaneers were led by Meredith Parrott who finished with 17 kills.
Winthrop will finish the regular season with three conference road contests starting with Gardner-Webb and Asheville next weekend and Presbyterian on November 14.
