The Winthrop University volleyball team will close out its 2026 regular season Friday when it hosts Gardner-Webb at 6 p.m. inside the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill.
The Eagles have dominated the all-time series, winning 46 of 52 meetings, including this season’s earlier matchup in a four-set victory that opened Big South Conference play. Winthrop enters Friday riding a 21-match winning streak against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, whose last victory in the series came in 2016.
Winthrop has been led by several standout performers throughout the season. Paige Bennett leads the Big South in kills per set (4.20) and points per set (4.69), while setter Lexi Thatcher ranks first in assists per set at 10.35. Addison Torain is second in the conference in digs per set (4.16), and Teagan Sychterz ranks third in blocks per set (1.06).
As a team, the Eagles lead the Big South in both assists per set (12.88) and kills per set (13.52). They also rank among the nation’s top 53 teams in digs per set.
Torain recently earned her fifth Big South Libero of the Week award after recording 35 digs in eight sets. Thatcher has also collected six Setter of the Week honors this season.
Friday’s match offers Winthrop an opportunity to finish the regular season with another conference victory before postseason play.
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Patrick Byrne lives in Tega Cay with his wife and two daughters. After 25 years working for a Big 4 bank, he retired to pursue his passion for writing. Additional articles and content can be found on his blog (reverian1776.blogspot.com) and freethepeople.org.
