Spartanburg, S.C. - For the second day in a row the Stetson volleyball team (1-11) dropped a close four-set match to A-Sun rival USC Upstate (5-7) at Wofford's Benjamin Johnson Arena. Freshman outside hitter Kaley Melville (New Germany, Minn.) and sophomore setter Kelli Carneal (Fredericksburg, Va.) also mirrored yesterday's performances with double-doubles; Friday's match was considered a non-conference affair.
After a shaky performance in the first set, Stetson came back to win the second set and later looked to have the fourth set in its back pocket but the Spartans pulled off a late rally to seal their 25-13, 24-26, 25-16, 26-24 victory. USC Upstate out-hit the Hatters .269 to .151 in the match.
Carneal finished with 33 assists, 15 digs and six kills on .417 hitting to pace the Hatters; Melville also achieved double-double status for the second day in a row with 16 digs and 13 kills. Freshman outside hitter Katie DiGirolamo (Bradenton, Fla.) added 11 kills for Stetson with sophomore libero Monique Russell (Phoenix, Ariz.) and junior outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.) recording 14 digs each. Junior middle blocker Sam Freeman (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) contributed seven kills and four blocks to the cause.
Four Spartans reached double figures in kills, led by 18 on excellent .500 hitting from Morgan Thomas. Cori Harris had 14 kills, eight digs and three aces while Kelsie Queen (13 kills) and Katie Downey (12 kills) rounding out the quartet. USC Upstate setter Emily Sanders put up a 56-assist, 17-dig double-double with Megan Healey (19 digs), Morgan Page (17 digs) and Mindy Quimby (10 digs, eight kills) hitting double digits as well in the defensive statistics.
The Hatters will try to end their eight-match losing skid tomorrow when they conclude Wofford Invitational play against SIU Edwardsville and the host Terriers. A link to Live Stats can be found at GoHatters.com, the official online home of Stetson Athletics; follow @StetsonSID on Twitter (twitter.com/stetsonsid) to receive in-game updates on volleyball and all other Hatter varsity squads.
