BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team (8-10, 1-2 Big South) finally opens its Big South home slate on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, hosting UNC Asheville (5-11, 2-1 Big South) on October 10th and USC Upstate (9-7, 2-1 Big South) on October 11th

FRIDAY NIGHT GAME INFORMATION
Game 19: UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb
Location: Paul Porter Arena - Boiling Springs, N.C.
First Serve: 6:00 pm
Stream: ESPN Plus
Talent: Colin Calvert
Most Recent Meeting: 2024 - Gardner-Webb 3, UNC Asheville 2
Series History: UNC Asheville leads 23-15

SATURDAY AFTERNOON GAME INFORMATION
Game 20: USC Upstate at Gardner-Webb
Location: Paul Porter Arena - Boiling Springs, N.C.
First Serve: 2:00 pm
Stream: ESPN Plus
Talent: De'Aaron Smith
Most Recent Meeting: 2024 - USC Upstate 3, Gardner-Webb 0
Series History: USC Upstate leads 13-10

SERIES NOTES VS UNC ASHEVILLE

• Gardner-Webb has swept the season series each of the last three years and has won six in a row overall, including a pair of 3-2 wins in Boiling Springs last October and November
• The active six-match winning streak included four sweeps in a row between 2022 and 2023
• Prior to the current winning streak, UNC Asheville had defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs in eight straight between 2018 and 2021
• UNC Asheville holds the all-time series record with nine wins in a row between 2007 and 2011, before Gardner-Webb recorded a 3-0 sweep at home in October 2011 for its first conference win in the series
• The Runnin' Bulldogs first win overall against UNC Asheville came by way of a 3-1 victory in Asheville in November of 2006
• Gardner-Webb is on its longest unbeaten run in the series, besting two three-match winning streaks across 2011 and 2012, and 2013 and 2014

SERIES NOTES VS USC UPSTATE

• USC Upstate recorded a season sweep of the Runnin' Bulldogs in 2024 and enters having won three of four in the series
• The last win for GWU came in 2023 in Spartanburg by a 3-1 final
• The last home win against USC Upstate for the Dawgs was in October of 2022, finishing off a season sweep with a 3-0 win
• Gardner-Webb won a program-best three in a row against the Spartans from 2007 to 2010, back when USC Upstate called the ASUN Conference home
• Since USC Upstate joined the Big South, the Spartans lead the series 10-5, with four of the five Gardner-Webb wins coming on the road
• The two sides first met in 2007, kicking off a run of three straight wins and five of the first six going to the Runnin' Bulldogs

GARDNER-WEBB NOTES

• Gardner-Webb is led on the attack by a freshman and two sophomores. Freshman outside hitter Haedyn Crumbley has a team-high 130 kills, followed by sophomore outside hitter Samia Sayd with 122, and sophomore outside hitter Isabel Sandstrum with 99
• In the assist column, sophomore setter Olivia Lefebvre leads the way for GWU with 344, and over 5.1 per set. Lefebvre is coming off three straight career games with 30 against Winthrop, 29 against Radford and 39 against High Point to place second in the conference with 98 since league play began
• Junior middle Milla Lugo leads the Big South Conference in hitting percentage through three games, with 34 kills at a tune of .433%. Lugo is also tied for second in the league in total blocks since the start of conference play with 17
• Lugo has also just passed a career milestone, moving over 100 blocks for both her college career and Gardner-Webb career back in September
• On the defensive end, graduate libero Nalani McBride has been excellent, with 373 digs and 5.49 digs per set this season. McBride enters the weekend third nationally in digs per set and as the nation's leader in total digs
• McBride is another Runnin' Bulldogs player who has reached a career milestone this season, recording her 800th dig between GWU and Temple two weeks ago at Winthrop
• Among a team of mostly freshman and sophomores, freshman right side Sarina Galyean has seen some excellent play for GWU, with 59 total kills including 12 against Marshall and 10 against Queens in consecutive games
• Other newcomers to the team include redshirt freshman right side Alexis Maesch, who has standout games this season against Campbell with 12 kills and a .241% hitting percentage, and Northern Arizona where she hit .357% and recorded seven kills
• As a team, Gardner-Webb ranks first in the Big South in several key categories, with 775 kills, 38 solo blocks, 108 service aces, and 1152 digs
• Gardner-Webb will aim for its 9th and 10th wins over the weekend, hoping to archive double-digit wins for the first time in the Alex Hinsey era, after already surpassing last season's win total a couple weeks ago

UNC ASHEVILLE NOTES

• The Bulldogs enter the weekend 5-11, with wins over West Georgia, The Citadel, NC Central, USC Upstate and Presbyterian
• UNC Asheville finished 11-12 overall, 5-9 in the Big South in 2024 and dropped both its match-ups in Boiling Springs
• UNC Asheville is the top team in the Big South for block assists and total blocks, with 238 block assists and 150.0 as a team
• The Bulldogs are also among the top teams in the league for total digs, with 957 as a unit, good for 15.44 per set
• Michelle Thao of UNC Asheville enters the weekend with the second most total digs in the Big South with 317, recording 94 of those since the start of conference play

USC UPSTATE NOTES

• The Spartans are off to a 9-7 start, scoring impressive wins over Tennessee Tech, NC Central and Elon of note
• Upstate finished 13-15 overall in 2024, including an 8-6 mark in conference play, good enough for the 3-seed in the Big South Tournament, where the Spartans fell 3-2 to Presbyterian in the opening round
• Upstate is among the top offensive teams in the entire Big South, currently second for hitting percentage at .212%, assists per set with 11.96 and tops in kills and kills per set, with 764 and a clip of 13.09
• The Spartans feature the conference leaders in both hitting percentage and assists per set, with Ady O'Grady swinging .389 this season and Kamyla Vega David recording 10.49 assists per set