Volleyball Falls In First Round to Winthrop

Junior Renae Popovich

Top seeded Winthrop advanced at the Big South Conference Volleyball Tournament as it defeated eighth seeded Charleston Southern Tuesday night in the Winthrop Coliseum by the scores of 30-26, 30-19, 30-18.
With Tuesday’s result, Winthrop moves to 31-2 in the season, while the Buccaneers finish 8-22.

Junior Renae Popovich led the way offensively, recording 10 kills and committing just two attacking errors. Setter Sam Sasan provided 28 assists, while middle hitter Jenni Shepherd and setter Jillian Worby combined for 25 digs. Shepherd led the Buccaneers in block assists with four.

As a team, Charleston Southern recorded a .250 hitting average in game one with 14 kills and just four errors. The hot-hitting wouldn't continue, as the Lady Bucs hit just .033 for the match, posting 32 kills, 40 digs, three service aces and six blocks. “I’m very proud of my girls. We came in and fought hard against an excellent team. We are looking forward to the future,” said Buccaneer head coach Danyel Bellush.

As a team, Winthrop posted a .268 hitting percentage capturing 47 kills, 50 digs, four service aces and eight blocks.

“We really had to grind tonight believe it or not. The scores of this match are not indicative of the kind of effort it took to put CSU away. They were a very hard working group and I respect the way their program played tonight. I felt they were out playing us for most of the first game and part of the second and third games and it frustrated our spirit,” said Winthrop head coach Joel McCartney. “We had a tremendous attitude and began executing very well as a result for the final 10 points or so of game three. We will take that lesson into the weekend and come out more competitive from the start. We got a good lift from Kelley Taylor and Mel Kessler off the bench and it was good to feel everyone contribute to the win.”