ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team is riding a five-match winning streak as the Eagles enter conference play this weekend with road contests at Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern.
Winthrop (9-6) is coming off three victories last weekend at the Deacon Classic, winning the tournament. The Eagles swept Elon and Western Carolina and defeated host, Wake Forest 3-1.
Senior Alina Sopizhuk earned an All-Tournament Team selection last weekend and leads the Eagles with 168 kills, 3.17 per set. Junior Rachel Lenz continues to be strong both on offense and defense as she is second on the team in kills with 134 and leads the Big South in blocks with 76 total.
Senior Jessie Vicic was named the Deacon Classic MVP as she notched double-doubles against Elon and Western Carolina. She leads the Eagles in assists with 483, averaging just shy of nine per set.
Friday evening at 7 p.m. the Eagles will take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers who are currently 10-3 and winners of nine of their last 10 matches.
The Chanticleers are led offensively by freshman Leah Hardeman and junior Eszter Nagy. Hardmen leads Coastal Carolina with 188 kills, an average of 3.76 kills per set while Nagy has totaled 118 kills with only 21 errors on 206 total attacks for a .471 hitting percentage.
Senior Sam Skryd is the team's primary setter as she averages just shy of 10 assists per set. Defensively, Nagy leads the Chanticleers with 46 total blocks while senior Jenna Orner averages 4.32 digs per set.
Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. the Eagles will face Charleston Southern. The Buccaneers will host Presbyterian on Friday and enter the weekend with a 6-9 record and have dropped four of their last five.
Charleston Southern's offense runs primarily through juniors Siraya Windsor and Meredith Parrott. Windsor leads the team with 203 kills, averaging just shy of four per set while Parrott has totaled 185 kills this season.
Junior Cassidy Greer is the primary setter for the Buccaneers and averages 9.12 assists per set. Charleston Southern has not had much success at the net defensively, averaging just 1.25 blocks per set but does average more than 15 digs per set.
Following the two road games, Winthrop will host its final non-conference contest of the season on Tuesday, September 30 against USC Upstate. The Eagles will then host Presbyterian on Friday, October 3.
