Box Score CONWAY, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep over the Presbyterian College Blue Hose Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Tournament.
With the victory, Winthrop (20-11) will make its first semi-final appearance since 2011 and will play the top-seeded Radford Highlanders Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Presbyterian ends its season with a 12-16 overall record.
Senior Alina Sopizhuk led the Eagles with 14 kills and recorded a .297 attack percentage. Freshman Nikki Drost also added 12 kills and seven digs. Senior Jessie Vicic narrowly missed a double-double with 35 assists and nine digs. Sophomore Maria Volstad led the team with 22 digs.
The Eagles went down quickly 6-1 in the first set but battled back on a 9-2 run to take a 10-8 advantage. After briefly falling behind 16-15, Winthrop went on an 8-2 run, opening a 23-17 lead. Presbyterian fought back to get within three at 23-20, but got no closer as the Eagles took the first set 25-21.
After taking the first point of the second set, Winthrop had to play from behind. Despite playing from behind, the Eagles trailed by only as much as four at 21-17. Winthrop ran off four-straight points to tie the set at 21-21.
The two sides then traded the next four points before Winthrop pulled away by one at 24-23, forcing Presbyterian to take a timeout. The break didn't help as the Eagles took the final point, taking the second set 25-23.
Winthrop used a big 9-0 run midway through the third set to propel the team to the match sweep. The Eagles trailed 14-11 and started with five straight points before a Blue Hose timeout. The break didn't help and after another three points, Presbyterian took its second timeout.
Out of the second timeout, the Eagles capped off their 9-0 run to go up 20-14. Presbyterian pulled back two points, but couldn't get any momentum to overcome the deficit. Winthrop easily went on to take the third set 25-17.
The Eagles finished with 43 kills and a .208 attack percentage with 39 assists. Winthrop totaled four service aces, 65 digs and four total blocks.
Winthrop and Radford will meet Friday for the second time this season. The Highlanders swept the Eagles on October 24 as Winthrop was unable to place any hitter in double-digit kills.
A victory Friday would give Winthrop its first conference championship appearance since 2011 and the team's 21st victory would be the most since the Eagles went 34-3 in 2006.
