ROCK HILL, SC – Senior Alina Sopizhuk led the Winthrop volleyball team with 12 kills Saturday as the Eagles downed the Charleston Southern Buccaneers 3-0 on Senior Day.

The Eagles improved to 17-10 overall and 7-4 in the conference with the victory while Charleston Southern fell to 11-19 overall and 1-10 in the Big South.

Winthrop grabbed an early 9-4 edge over the Buccaneers but Charleston Southern didn't go quietly.  The Eagle lead was cut to three at 14-11 and remained at three at 19-16 before Winthrop closed the set on a 6-1 run to take the opening set 25-17.

The Eagles dominated the middle of the second set, using a 12-1 run to turn a slim 9-6 lead into a 21-7 advantage.  Charleston Southern was able to pull a few points back but the deficit was too large as Winthrop took the second set 25-14.

Winthrop had little trouble closing out the match in three sets.  The Eagles jumped out to a 10-4 lead and Charleston Southern was only able to get back to within five at 17-12.  Winthrop then took six straight points to open a 23-12 advantage en route to the 25-14 victory.

Sopizhuk's 12 kills led all hitters and finished with a .385 hitting percentage.  Fellow senior Jessie Vicic totaled 21 assists and seven digs.  Maria Volstad had 15 digs while Nikki Drost had 11.

The Eagles finished with a .257 attack percentage with 43 kills.  Winthrop totaled 37 assists, 53 digs and five total blocks.

Winthrop will close out the regular season on the road over the next two weeks starting with a pair of road contests at Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville next Friday and Saturday.