Rock Hill, S.C. – Eagles advance to the Big South Conference Championship match for the first time since 2007 after sweeping Presbyterian College in straight sets (25-9, 25-22, 25-20). Playing host to the Big South Conference Championships, the Eagles extended their home court record to 13-0 going into tomorrow's match. 
 
How It Happened
The first set was all Eagles with the #1 seed building momentum off the high energy from the home crowd. PC struggled to get past a solid Winthrop block and keep their attack errors in check. The Blue Hose hit just -.128 in the opening frame, while the Eagles managed a .276. Player of the Year, Siani Yamaguchi had the hot hand with three kills, no errors and nine assists. 
 
The Eagles carried the momentum into the second set, jumping to a 3-0 lead. PC fought their way back into the set and took their first lead, 10-9. Emily Wunder answered with an uncontested kill and a string of PC attack errors put the Eagles back in the lead. The set reached another tie, 22-22, when two kills from Siani Yamaguchi and a PC error put the Eagles up 2-0 in the match. 
 
The third set looked to be another runaway, with Winthrop taking an 18-13 lead. The Blue Hose struggled to cut the lead to less than three and the Eagles finished the match with a kill from Nikkia Benitez.  
 
Inside the Box Score
The offensively rounded Eagles saw eight kills from Emily Wunder, Nikkia Benitez, and Makayla Doyle. Morgan Bossler finished just behind them with 7 kills. Siani Yamaguchi finished with 33 assists, 11 digs, five kills, and set her team to a .209. 
 
PC struggled offensively all night, finishing with just two players with five kills, and a -.008 team hitting efficiency. 
 
Up Next
The Eagles will be back at the Coliseum tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. for the Big South Conference Championship match. They will play the winner of the High Point vs. Campbell semi-final match. The winner of tomorrow's match will earn a trip to the NCAA tournament.