ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Winthrop volleyball team is back on the road as it travels to Lynchburg, Va. for the Liberty Tournament starting Friday.
| Game Information - |
| Opponent/Date/Time/Location |
vs. Murray State (2-0) | Friday, Sept. 2 | 12 p.m. | Lynchburg, Va. (Liberty Arena)
at Liberty (1-2) | Friday, Sept. 2 | 6 p.m. | Lynchburg, Va. (Liberty Arena)
vs. UNC Wilmington (0-3) | Saturday, Sept. 3 | 1 p.m. | Lynchburg, Va. (Liberty Arena) |
| Live Stats |
Murray State | Liberty | UNC Wilmington |
| Live Stream |
at Liberty (ESPN+) |
| Social Media |
Twitter - @WinthropVolley / @WUEagles | Instagram - winthropvolleyball | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand |
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MURRAY STATE
Winthrop and Murray State have only met once, which came on Sept. 19, 2015 at home in the Winthrop Invitational. The Eagles dropped the match 3-1 with every set decided by six or fewer points.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS LIBERTY
Winthrop and Liberty meet for the first time since 2017, which was the final season the Flames competed in the Big South Conference. This marks the 44
th meeting all-time as Liberty holds a 32-18 lead in the series. The two teams last met Oct. 20, 2017 as the Eagles fell 3-0 at home. Winthrop earned a 3-2 win in its last visit to Lynchburg. Liberty has the most Big South Conference titles at seven with Winthrop right behind the Flames with six.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS UNC WILMINGTON
Eagles and Seahawks meet for the 19
th time with the all-time series tied at 9-9. It is the first meeting since 2016 when the Eagles traveled to Wilmington for a tournament and fell to the host 3-0 on Aug. 26. UNCW has won the last three meetings. Eagles last win over UNCW came at home in the season opener of the 2011 season (Won, 3-1).
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Eagles opened the season at the Carolina Classic against a competitive field of Omaha, Sacred Heart and South Carolina
- Senior Alayna Jansky led the Eagles offensively over the first weekend at 2.91 kills per set
- Jansky's 2.91 kills per set rank 8th in the Big South and ranks 5th in points per set (3.59)
- Jasnky surpassed 650 career digs in the tournament at South Carolina and now has 670
- Freshman Avery Jolley is second on the team with 2.36 kills per set and leads the team in hitting percentage (.351)
- Her hitting percentage ranks 5th in the Big South
- Graduate senior Alicia Roberts and junior Brookelynn Thomas are ranked among the Top 10 in the league in blocks per set
- Roberts is 3rd at 1.27 per set and Thomas is tied for 7th at 0.82 per set
- Sophomore Isabella Murray handled the setting duties over the first three games, averaging 8.09 assists per set
- Senior Leah Metzger has 31 digs through three matches and is approaching 800 in her career (799)
- This year's team has 12 returnees and six newcomers
- This will be the Eagles have played 1,752 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,044-708
GEARHART GETS GOING
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.
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.
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).
FOLLOW US!
For all the up-to-date information on Winthrop Volleyball, follow along on Twitter at @winthropvolley and Instagram at winthropvolleyball.
