CHARLESTON, S.C. – Winthrop volleyball came from behind to defeat Charleston Southern by a final score of 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14) Friday night at Buccaneer Field House.
Winthrop (16-10, 12-3 Big South) | Charleston Southern (15-15, 8-8 Big South)
Nov. 11, 2022 | Buccaneer Field House
Winthrop 3, Charleston Southern 2 (21-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14)
How it Happened
Set 1 | Winthrop trailed early 3-0 before two straight kills by
Avery Jolley cut it to 3-2. The Bucs then scored seven of the next twelve points to go up 10-7. Two straight kills by Jolley and
Lexie Vick cut it to 10-9 before CSU went on a huge spurt, scoring fourteen of the next nineteen points to take a commanding 24-14 lead. But Winthrop refused to go away, scoring seven straight to cut it to 24-21. During the run,
Alayna Jansky had two kills and
Madison Gorniak had three aces. But that's as close as Winthrop would get as CSU notched the next point and took a 1-0 lead into the second set. Despite the rally that fell just short, Winthrop took went into the second set with some serious momentum.
Set 2 | Trailing 2-0 early, three straight points gave Winthrop an early 3-2 lead. The Bucs tied it on the next play but Winthrop went on a 7-3 run to take a 10-6 lead. Three of the points were CSU errors. The Bucs cut it to 10-8 but a kill by Jansky and an error gave Winthrop a 12-8 edge. After CSU scored four of the next six to make it a 14-12 game, the Eagles began to pull away, finishing the set on an 11-6 run to tie the match at 1, 25-18. Jolley led the closing spurt with four kills.
Set 3 | The Eagles came out with an 8-5 lead with Jolley leading with four kills. The Bucs would then score the next four points to take a 9-8 lead only to have Winthrop score three of the next five to take an 11-9 lead. After the Bucs then scored two straight points to tie it at 11, the majority of the rest of the set was back-and-forth, with neither team seizing more than a two point lead. There were also seven lead changes and six ties during this stalemate. Then with the Bucs up 21-19, Winthrop scored the final six points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. During the closing run, Jolley had three kills.
Set 4 | The fourth set started out at 4-4, with two of the points being Jansky kills. Winthrop went on an 8-3 run to take a 10-6 lead. Five errors against the Bucs helped paved the way during the run. CSU then went on a 6-0 run to take a one point lead before a kill by
Isabella Murray tied it at 13. CSU kept it going, scoring six of the next seven for a 19-14 lead. But Winthrop was not done. Five straight points tied the set at 19. CSU, however, finished the set on a 6-4 run to tie the match at two heading to the deciding set.
Set 5 | The fifth and final set was a thriller. Down 6-4 early, Winthrop scored five straight to take a 9-6 lead.
Brookelynn Thomas led the way with three aces during the run. CSU would cut it to two but three straight Eagle points made it 12-8 and put the Eagles within three points of winning the match. But CSU was not done, scoring six of the next seven points to come within one point of winning the match themselves. The Eagles appeared doomed but Jansky refused to let her team lose, finishing the set and the match with three straight kills to lift Winthrop to a miraculous win, 16-14.
Statistical Leaders
Alayna Jansky (17 kills, 14 digs, 3 blocks)
Alicia Roberts (11 kills, 4 blocks)
Avery Jolley (23 kills)
Sydney Nolan (5 blocks)
Karli Shepherd (9 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks)
Isabella Murray (4 aces, 3 blocks, 46 assists, 13 digs)
Madison Gorniak (4 aces, 6 assists, 26 digs)
Notables
- Winthrop has won ten of the last eleven matches
- The Eagles have played 1,773 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,058-714
- Jansky had her 21st match with 10 or more kills on the season
- Thomas has 24 service aces on the year, a career-high for a single-season
- With the win, the Eagles now lead the all-time series 70-20 and have won the last four meetings and 14 of the last 16
UP NEXT
The Eagles are back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. as they travel to Presbyterian for the final regular-season match.
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