Rock Hill, S.C. – After road sweeps of Presbyterian and Charleston Southern last weekend, Winthrop Volleyball (6-7, 3-0 Big South) returns to the friendly confines of the Winthrop Coliseum for their next two conference matches, taking on Radford (6-9, 3-1 Big South) and defending Big South champion High Point (12-5, 4-0 Big South). 
 

Winthrop Volleyball Game Information
vs. Radford	Friday, Oct. 18 | 6:00 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
vs. High Point	Saturday, Oct. 19 | 2:00 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Location	Rock Hill, S.C. | Winthrop Coliseum
Shop	Find all your needs for Winthrop gear– ShopWinthropeagles | ShopWinthropGear
Promotions	Free Fanny Packs for the First 100 Fans | Post-Match Autographs/Meet & Greet
Social	Twitter - @WinthropVolley / @WUEagles | Instagram - winthropvolleyball | #ROCKtheHILL | #EverStand

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS RADFORD
This is the 77^th meeting between the programs with Winthrop leading the series, 39-37. The most recent meeting was on Oct. 27, 2023 with Winthrop winning 3-0 on the road. The Eagles won both matchups from the Highlanders last season and is on a nine-match win streak in the series dating back to a 3-1 win at home on Oct. 19, 2019. Winthrop won the first meeting by scores of 2-0 and 3-0 in a doubleheader on Oct. 12, 1985. From 1985 to 2001, Radford had the upper hand in the series but since 2002, it has been largely all Eagles, which included winning 18 matches in a row from 2003 to 2010. Radford went 6-17 (5-9 Big South) in 2023.
 
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS HIGH POINT
This is the 68^th meeting between the programs with Winthrop leading the series, 39-28. The most recent meeting was on Nov. 19, 2023 in High Point with the Panthers winning 3-2 in the Big South Tournament title match. The Panthers won all three matchups last season and is currently on a nine-game win streak in the series dating back to a 3-1 victory on Mar. 11, 2021. Winthrop's last win in the series was a 3-0 victory at home on Oct. 18, 2019. High Point won the first meeting 2-1 in 1975 on the way to winning the first seven meetings from 1975 to 1978. Winthrop completely dominated the series from 1979 to 2007, going 31-2. The series has been in High Point's favor since 2008, with the Eagles winning eight games against the Panthers since then. High Point went 23-8 (14-0 Big South) in 2023, winning both the conference regular-season and tournament titles and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they would fall to #10 Tennessee in straight sets in Knoxville on Dec. 1, 2023.
 
SEASON HONORS
Isabella Murray-VCU Invitational All-Tournament Team

• Murray passed 100 career blocks and 500 digs
• With this, Murray became the fifth setter in Winthrop history to have 2,000 assists, 100 blocks and 500 digs in her career
• Murray notched another double-double in the sweep of Lafayette with 41 assists and 15 digs while adding in a kill and setting the team to a .336 hitting percentage

 Paige Bennett-VCU Invitational All-Tournament Team

• Bennett led the Eagles in kills in both matches with 4.17/set while hitting .277 on the weekend as a 6 rotation outside
• She was also the team's point scoring leader with 4.41 per set
• She added on 10 digs, an ace, 2 assists, and a block assist

 Isabella Murray-Big South Setter of the Week-Sep. 2-8

• Murray posted 67 assists (11.17 per set) in addition to 23 digs (3.83 per set) as the Eagles split a pair of matches
• Murray is Winthrop's first ever Big South Setter of the Week recipient (the award was instituted by the Conference starting this season). This is also the first time this season an Eagle has taken home a weekly award

 Sophia Matthews-Black and Gold Invitational All-Tournament Team

• Matthews led the Eagles in digs in all three matches, which included a career-best 16 vs. Appalachian State
• Her 16 digs in a three-set match is tied for 4^th by any player in the Big South Conference this season
• She also added five assists and two aces

 Karli Shepherd-Bash In The 'Boro Invitational All-Tournament Team

• Shepherd led the Eagles in kills in all three matches last weekend with 36
• Averaged 4.00 kills per set and hitting .371 on 81 attempts
• Added 11 digs, an ace and two block assists

 Isabella Murray-Big South Setter of the Week-Sep. 30-Oct. 6

• Murray helped the Eagles to a 3-0 sweep over USC Upstate last Saturday with 34 assists (11.33 per set) and seven digs
• Guided the squad to a .325 team hitting percentage in its conference opener

 Karli Shepherd-Big South Player of the Week-Oct. 7-13

• Shepherd paced the Eagles' offense to two road sweeps, leading the team in total kills with 30 (5.00 per set) and total points with 32.5 (5.42 per set)
• She added 2.50 digs per set
• Shepherd had her career-high for kills in Saturday's match against Charleston Southern, as she put down 17 in just three sets

 Isabella Murray-Big South Setter of the Week-Oct. 7-13

• Murray's work on the weekend helped lead the Eagles to a .275 hitting percentage and two 3-0 victories
• She totaled 75 assists (12.33 per set) and her 41 assists on Friday against Presbyterian was her third match this season with at least 40
• Murray added 2.33 digs per set and 1.00 kills per set to compliment her assist numbers

 Sophia Matthews-Big South Libero of the Week-Oct. 7-13

• Matthews scooped up 37 digs in two road match victories, good for 6.17 per set
• She would post career bests in digs in both contests -- first picking up 18 on Friday at PC followed by 19 on Saturday at Charleston Southern
• Matthews anchored the Eagles defense with a .950 reception percentage while holding the opposition to a .132 hitting clip

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES

• Winthrop's originally scheduled matches at Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Sep. 28 at 2:00 p.m. and at UNC Asheville on Friday, Oct. 4 at 6:00 p.m. were postponed due to the wet conditions caused by Hurricane Helene
• The match with Gardner-Webb will now take place in Boiling Springs, N.C. on Gardner-Webb's home court on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.
• The away match at UNC Asheville will be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined
• In addition, the home match with USC Upstate scheduled during Homecoming weekend on Friday, Nov. 8 at 5:00 p.m. has been switched to an away match for the Eagles against USC Upstate for a time yet to be determined
• Murray is now eighth in school history in assists with 2,368 following the Charleston Southern match, four behind Erin Prather's 2,372 assists compiled from 1992 to 1995
• Winthrop continued Big South play with consecutive road sweeps of Presbyterian and Charleston Southern this past weekend
• Against Presbyterian, three Eagles had double figures in kills
• Four Eagles had double figures in digs
• Avery Jolley and Murray each recorded a double double
• Giselle Little and Maeve Rehmann both had a hitting percentage of more than .600 in the match
• Little had a career-high in kills with 11
• Rehmann had a career-high in blocks with six
• Against Charleston Southern, Jolley's 28 digs set the all-time individual match record for digs in a three-set match
• The previous record was 26 set by Madison Gorniak vs. Charlotte on Sep. 19, 2021 (a 3-0 Eagle victory)
• This was also a career-high in digs for her
• Matthews had a career-high in digs with 19
• Shepherd had a career-high in kills with 17
• The Eagles have played 1,815 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,079-736
• Winthrop is currently the only program in the Big South so far this season to have defeated a Power Four opponent
• Jolley leads the team in kills with 124
• Murray leads the team in assists (426) and aces (13)
• Rachel McCollum leads the team in blocks with 23
• Matthews leads the team in digs with 131
• Winthrop leads the conference in kills per set (13.24)
• Winthrop is second in the conference in digs per set (16.74)
• This is also ranked 26th in the nation
• Winthrop is third in the conference in assists per set (11.79)
• Winthrop is fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.210)
• Jolley and Shepherd are fourth and fifth in the Big South in kills per set with 3.18 and 3.13, respectively
• Little is second in the conference in hitting percentage with .362
• Murray leads the conference in assists per set with 10.14
• Rehmann is fifth in the conference in hitting percentage with .299

PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAY
The High Point match will feature a promotional giveaway. The first 100 fans will receive a free fanny pack. In addition, there will be an autograph session with the players following the match.

GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS TODAY
General Admission tickets will be sold for all volleyball games in the 2024 season. Season tickets are currently on sale for $25. Single-game tickets are $8. To get your season pass today, click HERE or by calling the ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
 
WATCH THE EAGLES ON ESPN+
All but two of the home games during the 2024 season will air live on ESPN+. You can also catch select road games in Big South Conference play on ESPN+. To watch Big South games on ESPN+ you must have a subscription to ESPN+. For more information on how to subscribe, click here.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Next week the Eagles stay put in Rock Hill to face Charleston Southern on Friday, Oct. 25 at 6:00 p.m. and Presbyterian on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 2:00 p.m.

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