ROCK HILL, SC – Having swept its last two opponents, the Winthrop volleyball team heads to West Virginia this weekend, looking to extend its winning streak at the WVU Invitational.

The Eagles are 6-5 on the season after downing Western Carolina 3-0 on Tuesday.  Winthrop will meet the host Mountaineers Friday evening at 7 p.m.  On Saturday, the Eagles will face Dartmouth at 10 a.m. and Akron at 4:30 p.m.

In Tuesday's win over the Catamounts, Winthrop had a strong showing from freshman Sydney Gunter who totaled 11 kills and a .471 attack percentage.  Kelsey Schroll and Brianna Gray each both also hit over .400, finishing with eight and seven kills respectively. 

The host West Virginia Mountaineers enter the weekend with a 5-5 mark and are coming off a four-set loss on the road to Pacific Monday evening.  Payton Caffrey is the team's overwhelming offensive leader, totaling 189 kills this season, a 4.85 kill per set average.  The team's next-leading attacker is Hannah Shreve who has 64 kills.  West Virginia runs a two-setter system between Haley Roe and Erin Slinde.

The Dartmouth Big Green come into the tournament with a 6-1 record with the team's only loss coming in three sets to Army last weekend.  Outside of the three-set loss to Army, the Big Green have dropped only two sets in their six other matches.  Emily Astarita has led the Big Green offensively this season, averaging 3.61 kills per set and a .319 attack percentage. 

Winthrop closes the tournament against Akron who is 3-6 on the young season and has dropped its last two matches.  The Zips have spread the offensive production across the lineup as four players have 65 or more kills.  Karly Kusan is the team's primary setter, averaging just under 10 assists per set. 

The Eagles will enter conference play after this weekend's tournament.  Winthrop will host Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, September 20 at 7 p.m to kick off Big South play.