COLUMBIA, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team dropped a hard-fought, five-set battle to the Clemson Tigers Saturday before falling in straight sets to South Carolina on the first day of the Carolina Classic, hosted by the Gamecocks.
Winthrop's record fell to 1-4 overall on the season and will close out the Carolina Classic on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. against the Furman Paladins.
Against the Clemson Tigers, the Eagles won a tight first set in a back-and-forth battle. Winthrop jumped out to a 6-1 lead only to see it quickly wiped away. Throughout the rest of the set, neither side amassed more than a three-point edge. Clemson reached set point at 24-23 but the Eagles fought it off, scoring the final three points to win the first set 26-24.
Clemson dominated the second set, winning 25-13, evening the match at one set apiece. Winthrop again had to fight from behind in the third set as the Tigers reached set point at 24-23. After an Eagle timeout, a team effort of a kill, block and service ace gave Winthrop the 26-24 third-set victory.
The majority of the fourth set was tightly contested and the two sides were tied at 18-18. The Tigers then closed the set on a 7-3 run to take the fourth set 25-21. Clemson led throughout in the fifth set and despite Winthrop making a late run, the Tigers took the decisive set 15-12.
Four Eagles tallied double-digit kills against the Tigers, led by Lourdes Rosario who finished with 20. Keaupono Fey totaled 12 with a .458 attack percentage while Sammie-Jo Ah-Hong and Brianna Gray finished with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Siani Yamaguchi tallied 51 assists while Carlie Skelton totaled 19 digs.
Offensive struggles plagued the Eagles in the second match of the day against the host Gamecocks. South Carolina dominated the first two sets, winning them 25-14 and 25-12 respectively.
In the third set the Eagles fell behind early, but battled back in hopes of extending the match. Winthrop was able to grab a 20-18 lead but the Gamecocks came storming back on a 5-0 run to take a 23-20 and continued their momentum, taking the set 25-22.
Fey led the Eagles with seven kills while Gray contributed six. Yamaguchi totaled 19 assists in the loss.
