Lynchburg, Va. – Behind a combined 24 kills from
Alayna Jansky and
Brookelynn Thomas along with a .330 hitting percentage helped Winthrop volleyball earn a 3-0 victory over UNC Wilmington in its final contest of the Liberty Tournament Saturday afternoon.
Winthrop (2-4) | UNC Wilmington (1-5)
Sept. 3, 2022 | Liberty Arena
Winthrop 3, UNC Wilmington (25-20, 25-18, 25-23)
How it Happened
Set 1 | With the score tied at 3-3, the Eagles went on a 6-1 run to open up a five point advantage. The run started with three straight kills by
Brookelynn Thomas followed by back-to-back kills by
Alayna Jansky and ended with an ace by Thomas. The Seahawks fought their way back to 10-8, but the Eagles countered with three straight points and six out of the next seven for a 16-9 lead. The two teams then traded points before UNCW scored four straight to make it a 17-14 lead by the Eagles. UNCW did make it a three-point game at 20-17 but the Eagles finished strong, highlighted by two kills from
Alicia Roberts. Thomas had five kills while Jansky and Jolley each had four.
Isabella Murray finished with 14 assists and four digs.
Set 2 | The Eagles and Seahawks traded points to open the second set until UNCW took a 10-7 lead. The Eagles had a strong response as
Avery Jolley's kill sparked four straight points by the Eagles for an 11-10 lead. After UNCW tied the score at 11-11 the Eagles poured it on offensively to take a 20-13 lead thanks to a 9-2 run.
Isabella Murray had a big role in the run as she had two kills and two aces. Murray matched her first set total with 14 assists while Jansky had five kills and
Karli Shepherd added four.
Set 3 | Trailing 3-1 early on, the Eagles scored three straight for their first lead of the set. Winthrop led 7-5 when UNCW used a 4-0 run to regain the lead at 9-7. It turned into a 7-2 run for a 12-9 advantage. Eagles scored three straight, ignited by a double block by
Alicia Roberts and
Isabella Murray and a solo block from
Alicia Davis to tie the set. There were seven more ties before UNCW took a 20-19 lead. Winthrop tied the set on a kill by Roberts and proceeded to score the next four points. Leading 23-22, Roberts came through with another kill to set up match point. Two plays later Jolley's kill gave Winthrop the victory. Jansky had four kills and eight digs in the set while Roberts led with six kills.
Statistical Standouts
- Alayna Jansky (13 kills, .409 hitting percentage, assist, ace, 12 digs, 2 block assists)
- Brookelynn Thomas (11 kills, .579 hitting percentage, 2 aces, 4 digs, 2 block assists)
- Isabella Murray (40 assists, 3 kills, 2 aces, 8 digs, block assist)
- Alicia Roberts (9 kills, .353 hitting percentage, 2 solo blocks, 2 block assists)
- Avery Jolley (9 kills, .389 hitting percentage, assist, 3 aces, dig, block assist)
Liberty Tournament Honors
Top Attacker -
Brookelynn Thomas, Winthrop
Top Blocker - Lydia Burts, Liberty
Top Libero - Erica Lowery, Liberty
Top Setter - Delaney Dilfer, Liberty
MVP - Trinity Watts, Liberty
Up Next
Winthrop will be back in action Sept. 9-10 when it hosts the Winthrop Invitational, which brings Wyoming, Delaware and Davidson to the Winthrop Coliseum.
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