Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop aims to get back into the win column as they travel to USC Upstate Friday night and then venture to the Tar Heel State to take on Gardner Webb University the next day.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS USC UPSTATE
Winthrop and USC Upstate meet for the 12th time. The Eagles won the last meeting 3-0 and hold a 9-2 advantage in the all-time series. Winthrop is 2-2 all-time on the road against the Spartans.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS GARDNER WEBB UNIVERSITY
The Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs meet for the 44th time. The Eagles lead the all-time series 37-6 overall and 24-5 in regular season league matchups. The Eagles have a ten-match winning streak against Gardner-Webb and have not lost a set in seven straight meetings.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
Winthrop's seven game win streak was snapped with the loss to High Point in the final home game of the season
The Eagles have played 1,770 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,055-714
Winthrop finishes 8-3 overall at home and 7-1 in home conference play
Eagles at 9-3 in the league are sitting in third place, two games behind both High Point and Campbell
1
st in the Big South in opponent hitting percentage (.160), 2nd in digs per set (15.67) and blocks per set (2.32) and 3rd in kills per set at 12.54
Senior
Alayna Jansky leads the team with 3.62 kills per set, ranking 2nd in the Big South and 3rd in points per set (4.10)
Jansky had her 18th match with 10 or more kills on the season
Jansky surpassed 500 career kills. Jansky is at 527 kills and counting, accumulating 286 of those kills this season alone
Sophomore
Isabella Murray leads the Big South in assists per set (10.29) and is the only player in the league average 10 or more per set
Murray's 53 assists in the win over Wyoming are the third most by any player in the league this season but the most for a four-set match
Murray set a career high in kills in the UNC Asheville game
Brookelyn Thomas is 2nd on the team with 2.47 kills per set
Thomas has 22 service aces on the year, a career-high for a single-season
Thomas set a season high for kills and tied her career high in block assists in the UNC Asheville game
Freshman
Avery Jolley is first on the team with 2.38 kills per set and is second on the team in hitting percentage (.246)
Graduate senior
Alicia Roberts is ranked 2
nd in the Big South at 1.10 blocks per set
Junior
Madison Gorniak tied a career high in digs with 26 in the Campbell game
Gorniak surpassed 500 career digs. Gorniak is at 662 digs and counting, accumulating 300 of those digs this season alone.
In the win over Harvard the Eagles had 12 service aces, the most in a contest since Nov. 8, 2019 when the Eagles had 12 against USC Upstate
It was the most against a non-conference opponent since Sept. 8, 2018 when the Eagles had 12 against Delaware State (3 sets)
This year's team has 12 returnees and six newcomers
INTERIM HEAD COACH HEATHER GEARHART
Heather Gearhart was promoted to interim head volleyball coach in July after previous head coach
Chuck Rey became the full-time athletic director. Gearhart served as the assistant coach for the Eagles in 2021, helping Winthrop to 18 wins and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals.
Gearhart joined four other coaches in Winthrop volleyball history to begin 2-0 in conference play. That list includes
Chuck Rey, Julie Torbett, Sally Polhamus and Joel McCartney.
After playing collegiately at North Carolina from 2012-15 and making four NCAA Tournament appearances, she played professionally overseas before embarking on her collegiate coaching career. Gearhart worked at Tennessee during the 2018 season and moved to Akron in 2019, and both programs saw good success. The Vols reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the Zips qualified for the MAC tournament for the first time in seven years.
2022 SEASON HONORS
Madison Gorniak-Big South Libero Player of the Week (Oct. 31)
Matched her career-high with 26 digs and recorded five aces in a win over Campbell
Followed with 13 digs and an ace in a four-set setback to High Point
Alayna Jansky- Big South Co-Player of the Week (Oct. 17)
Helped the Eagles win over Presbyterian with 11 kills, a .323 percentage, eight digs, three blocks and 15.0 points
Posted .353 with 15 kills, eight digs, four blocks and 17.0 points in a win over Charleston Southern
Avery Jolley – Big South Freshman of the Week (Sept. 26)
Helped the team open league play with two straight wins as she averaged 3.0 kills per set
Combined for a .417 hitting percentage in the two games (at UNC-Asheville, vs. Radford)
Posted 13 kills in the win at Asheville, a personal-best for kills in a three-set match
Alayna Jansky – All-Tournament Team (Winthrop Tournament)
Averaged 4.09 kills per set and totaled 48 points (4.36 per set)
Had four service aces, 5 blocks and 41 digs (3.73 per set)
Posted a career-high 20 kills vs. Wyoming and also had 20 digs for her first 20-20 game
Brookelynn Thomas – Liberty Tournament Best Attacker
Averaged 3.09 kills per set with a .342 hitting percentage
Totaled four service aces and 7 digs
Totaled 47.5 points (4.32 per set)
Had 15 total blocks (4 solo, 11 assisted) for an average of 1.36 per set
BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
Winthrop was voted to finish third in the Big South Conference preseason poll. High Point is the preseason favorite with 81 points (nine first-place votes) while Campbell was second with 72 points. The Eagles had 61 points and are followed by USC Upstate (52), Presbyterian (43), Charleston Southern (32), Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville (23), and Radford (18).
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