SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Big matches from Macie Potter and Aubrey Hatch helped Radford down USC Upstate 3-1 Saturday afternoon, sealing a perfect 2-0 road weekend for the Highlanders.
Inside the box score
- Macie Potter capped her impressive weekend with another double-double of 16 kills (team high) and 10 digs.
- Aubrey Hatch set season highs with 15 kills and 13 digs, just her second double-double of the year.
- Mia Jannazzo finished with a team-high three aces and 24 digs, eclipsing 300 digs on the season.
- Alyssa Cadavid led the team for a second straight match in assists, splitting setting duties with Lea Gage as the pair combined for 53 assists. Gage has now accumulated over 500 assists this season.
- Coming into the weekend, Radford opponents had hit over .200 in 11 of the last 12 matches. Radford held UNC Asheville and USC Upstate both under .200.
- The pair of road wins at UNC Asheville and USC Upstate this weekend is Radford's first 2-0 weekend sweep of conference foes since 2018 when the team won matches at former conference members Campbell and Hampton.
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The breakdown
The first set of the evening followed the theme of the day, close sets throughout where a team would break away as the set grew late. Potter continued her hot streak with a team-high seven kills in the opener, hitting .429. Hatch also tallied five kills as Radford outhit USC Upstate .250 to .022.
Potter and Hatch's kills fueled the Highlanders throughout the set as neither team gained more than a two-point edge until a pair of kills by Potter had Radford ahead 22-18. The Highlanders rode that advantage to the end of the set as a block solo by Olivia Ryno gave Radford a 1-0 lead at 25-22.
The Highlanders' offense struggled in set two as the team hit just .045 with 11 attack errors to the Spartans' one. Radford earned an early lead in the set at 11-8, but USC Upstate entered the media timeout with a slim 15-14 lead. Tied up to 18-18, the Spartans scored seven of the last nine points of the set to even the match at 25-20.
In set three, Radford returned the favor. The offense caught fire again to hit .406 overall as Potter and Hatch combined for 12 kills. The Highlanders earned a 9-6 lead early and held the lead up to a slim 15-14 margin at the media break. Down 17-16, Potter tallied two kills while Taryn Roberts and Addison Cunnagin combined for a pair of blocks that flipped momentum. After the 6-0 run put Radford ahead 22-17, the team cruised to a 25-20 third-set final to go back ahead 2-1.
The Highlanders looked to avoid their third straight five-set match in Spartanburg with a win in set four. Radford did just that in a close affair as Cunnagin, Ryno and Roberts all caught fire to combine for 14 kills and get Radford across the finish line.
The Highlanders led early at 5-2, 11-8 and 15-11 as Roberts collected multiple kills and the Highlanders took advantage of multiple attack errors. The match tightened back up at 20-19 after a Spartans timeout, but Radford put together a 4-2 run behind kills from Cunnagin and Hatch for a 24-21 lead. USC Upstate rallied to extend the set, tying it at 24-24, but Radford rattled off back-to-back points thanks to kills from Cunnagin and Roberts. That sealed the set 26-24 for Radford and won the match 3-1.
Up next
After opening the season with three straight Big South games on the road, the Highlanders will host their first conference games next weekend. Action begins on Friday, October 9 at 6 p.m. against Winthrop, which is Youth Night and the team's Camper Reunion. On Saturday, October 10, Radford also hosts Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m. for their annual Dig Pink match.
For all the latest on Radford volleyball, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordVB), Instagram (@radfordvb), and "like" the team's official Facebook page (Radford Volleyball).
