ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop volleyball is among three teams at 2-0 in the Big South Conference standings as it will hit the road to take on the other two this weekend. The Eagles will take on High Point Friday evening and then Campbell on Saturday afternoon.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS HIGH POINT.
Winthrop and High Point meet for the 62
nd time. The Eagles have dropped three straight to the Panthers but lead the all-time series 39-22. This will mark the fourth straight meeting that is taking place in High Point. Winthrop's last win at High Point came on Sept. 22, 2018 with a 3-0 victory.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS CAMPBELL
This will be the 36
th meeting all-time between the Eagles and Camels. Campbell has won two straight in the series, but the Eagles hold a 21-14 record against Campbell all-time. The last meeting came on Nov. 20, 2021 at Campbell in the semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament as Campbell won 3-0.
GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
- Eagles are 1-3 on the road this season and 4-5 in games away from home
- Off to a 2-0 start in league play for the fourth time in the last five seasons
- Eagles are tied with Campbell and High Point for first place in the league standings
- Winthrop as a team leads the Big South in opponent hitting percentage (.178), second in blocks per set (2.12) and second in digs per set (15.10)
- Through two league games, the Eagles lead the league in hitting percentage (.323), opponent hitting percentage (0.54), assists per set (12.67), and kills per set (13.50)
- Senior Alayna Jansky leads the team with 3.51 kills per set, ranking 3rd in the Big South
- Jansky also ranks third in points per set (3.92) and 10th in digs per set (2.69)
- Sophomore Isabella Murray leads the Big South in assists per set (10.33) 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 most by any player in the league this season
- Junior Brookelynn Thomas set a career-high in services with six against Harvard and ranks 9th in the Big South (.30 per set)
- Thomas is also among the Top 10 in the league (8th) in points per set (3.17) and is 3rd on the team with 2.35 kills per set
- Freshman Avery Jolley is second on the team with 2.42 kills per set and leads the team in hitting percentage (.257) which is 8th best in the league
- Graduate senior Alicia Roberts, along with Thomas are ranked among the top blockers in the Big South
- Roberts is 2nd at 1.10 blocks per set and Thomas is 5th at 0.85 per set
- Junior Madison Gorniak ranks 9th in the Big South at 3.31 digs per set
- Senior Leah Metzger is closing in on 900 career digs (currently – 879)
- 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
- This will be the Eagles have played 1,759 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,048-711
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
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 UNCA, 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 perset)
- 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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