SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The University of West Georgia Volleyball team fell in their first match of the Spartan Invitational, falling 3-0 to hosts USC-Upstate on Thursday afternoon.

UWG (6-5, 0-0) struggled against the Spartans (3-8, 0-0) on the road in their final non-conference tournament before ASUN Conference play begins next week.

The opening set started as a back and forth rally with neither team having room for error. After numerous lead changes early, the Spartans eventually pulled away and never looked back. Sanai Young led West Georgia in kills with four that kept UWG in arms length, but the Spartans led by Alyssa Hook and company had a potent offense. West Georgia would fall to the Spartans 25-19, in the first set. 

The second set had a similar theme where both teams competed hard with various ties and lead changes. Both teams found momentum in the set with the Wolves going on a 7-3 run and USC-Upstate countering with a 7-2 run of their own. Young would continue her dominant performance by allotting four more kills to her total and Alex Strating also tallying on three kills. The Spartans were able to muster up enough stops to silence West Georgia's momentum to take the second set, 25-20.

The third set looked promising for the Wolves as they jumped out to an early 3-1 lead over the Spartans but that quickly diminished. The trio of Hook, Palmi, and Page were the motor for USC Upstate's up-tempo offense and UWG struggled to contain them. In the midst of the Spartans surge on offense, the Wolves never once gave up and were able to tie the match on the back of their defense led by Victoria Schmer. The libero had countless digs that kept West Georgia in the match, but eventually USC-Upstate would win the set 25-23 and complete the sweep.

Offensively, West Georgia was led by Sanai Young and Alex Strating with 20 kills combined on a .370 hitting percentage. Defensively, UWG was led by Victoria Schmer with a career-high 30 digs.

West Georgia will be back in action tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with a matchup against the Idaho Vandals in Spartanburg.