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Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team packs its bags for fall break and heads South to take on Savannah State Thursday night in a non-conference tilt, before traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., to take on North Florida on Friday night and Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon in a pair of A-Sun contests.

Savannah State Notes
Savannah State enters Thursday night's match against Upstate with a 2-18 overall record and is riding a 10-match losing streak. The Tigers last claimed a win on Sept. 14 at Morris, a 3-0 sweep.

Spotlight Player: Bianca Helton
Sophomore middle blocker Bianca Helton tops the club with 134 kills (2.1/gm) and 40 total blocks. She has also collected 10 aces on the year.

North Florida Notes
North Florida enters Friday night's match against Upstate with a 4-15 overall record and a 1-3 mark in the A-Sun. The Ospreys stand tied for ninth with Upstate in the team standings. They have dropped their last three conference matches after opening the season with a 3-1 win over Stetson. They are 3-4 at home this season.

Spotlight Player: Paige Prideon
Sophomore outside hitter Paige Pridgeon has been the quintessential leader for UNF this season. She tops the club with 262 kills and 435 digs. She ranks second on the team with 16 aces as well.

Ospreys in the A-Sun Rankings
Team
    11th in hitting percentage (.117)
    9th in assists (9.9)
    9th in kills (10.9)
    9th in blocks (1.7)
    7th in aces (1.2)
    7th in digs (14.5)

Jacksonville Notes
Jacksonville enters the weekend with a 10-10 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the A-Sun. The Dolphins are tied for fifth place in the league standings. They are on a two-match losing streak after rattling off five-straight wins, including A-Sun wins over Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast. The Dolphins are 3-0 at home on the year.

Spotlight Player: Kendall Courtney
Freshman setter Kendall Courtney has been a pleasant surprise for Jacksonville this season, taking the reigns as the team's leader on the court in her first season. She tops the club with 715 assists and 37 aces, while also tallying 128 digs on the season.

Dolphins in the A-Sun Rankings
Team
    4th in hitting percentage (.201)
    5th in assists (11.3)
    5th in kills (12.2)
    4th in blocks (1.9)
    2nd in aces (1.8)
    10th in digs (13.1)

Battling For Position
Upstate enters the weekend looking to battle for position in the A-Sun standings. Just a game out of fifth place, Upstate will take on North Florida, which also owns a 1-3 league mark.

Taking One From Lipscomb
Lipscomb claimed the A-Sun regular season championship a year ago with a perfect 20-0 record. The Lady Bisons are the favorites to win the league title again this year. Through their first three matches, no one in the A-Sun managed to get a game against them. However, Upstate claimed a 25-22 victory in the third set of the match last Saturday, securing the first game against the Lady Bisons in A-Sun competition this year.

Thomas Has Solid Week
Morgan Thomas turned in a solid week for Upstate last weekend, finishing second on the Spartans with seven kills against Belmont and tying for the team lead with 10 kills against Lipscomb. She hit .240 for the week and also posted a solo block against Lipscomb.

Harris Hitting Her Stride
Freshman Cori Harris has proven to be quite a spark plug this season for the Spartans. She has reached double figure kill totals in nine matches this year, including five of the last eight. She topped Upstate with 14 kills against Campbell two weeks ago and totaled eight against Belmont last week. She also tops all Spartan attacking players with six double-doubles on the year.