Volleyball Preview: Radford

UNC Asheville travels to Radford tonight to take part in an early battle for Big South supremacy. The first-place Bulldogs (12-5, 1-0) will try to build on their victory in Tuesday’s conference opener against Gardner-Webb when they take on the second-place Highlanders (9-6, 0-0).

In matches against common opponents, the Bulldogs and Highlanders have had very similar results. Both teams defeated South Carolina State in three sets; both fell to UNC Wilmington in four. Both squads also came up short against Elon, with Asheville losing 3-1 and Radford falling 3-0. The teams split their two meetings last season, each winning 3-1 on its home court. The Highlanders are a young team, with only one senior on their roster, but have a number of standout players. Junior Kiley Kent leads the Big South in service aces, holding a slight edge over Asheville’s Raquel Miotto. Sophomore Carly Fleming is third in the conference in blocks, and sophomore Katelyn Meeks is fourth in digs. The lone senior, Lauren Clary, has posted 115 kills and 178 digs (eight in the Big South) on the season. In the Bulldogs’ loss at Radford one year ago, Kent (8 kills, .467 hitting, 42 sets, 10 digs) and Waddell (13 kills, 6 digs) led the way. Radford enters tonight’s match with a two game winning streak, having defeated Bucknell (4-8) and Delaware State (6-9) over the weekend at the Bucknell Tournament.

The Bulldogs resisted a strong comeback effort to defeat Gardner-Webb on Tuesday night. Their 12-5 record is the best start for the program since 2005. Tonight, Asheville will rely on the continued success of two seniors. Lauren Ficker, who ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage, has been the linchpin of the Bulldogs’ attack in the absence of injured outside hitter Kelsey Benorden. She boasts three appearances on all-tournament teams and MVP honors from the USC Upstate Invitational. Libero Raquel Miotto, the Big South’s all-time leader in career digs, is poised to enter the NCAA all-time top ten and leads the conference in that category. The match is certain to be a tough battle, and will speak volumes about two Big South championship contenders.

Go Bulldogs!!

Checking in on Construction

Construction is progressing quickly on the new North Carolina Health and Wellness Center, the Karl Straus track, and the new tennis center at the Crowne Plaza Resort. A more detailed update will be coming soon on the athletic department's construction page here, but these are a few photos taken today at each of the sites:

The future North Carolina Health and Wellness Center

Crowne Plaza Resort Tennis Center

Karl Straus Track

Volleyball Outlasts Gardner-Webb, 3-1

The Big South-leading Bulldogs opened conference play with a big win last night, defeated Gardner-Webb in four sets at the Justice Center. It wasn’t always pretty for the Bulldogs (12-5, 1-0), but the team managed to put together a decisive win behind the senior leadership of Lauren Ficker and Raquel Miotto. Gardner-Webb (5-10, 0-1) played with tenacious effort in the final two sets, and had four players with double-digit digs and three with double-digit kills.

Asheville was in control for most of the first set behind 5 kills from Ficker and 6 digs from Miotto, and came away with a 25-20 win. The second set was a back-and-forth battle, but the Bulldogs broke away with a late run to take the set, 25-22. Not ready to give in, Gardner-Webb came out swinging in the third set, taking the lead on an early 7-0 run and never looking back on its way to a 25-18 victory. The intensity level was high in the fourth set, and an 8-1 surge from the Bulldogs was quickly erased. Finally, with the score knotted at 24, senior Brooke Holliday and sophomore Cindi Miller came up with back-to-back kills to put Gardner-Webb away.

Ficker finished the match with 13 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season. Miller was also in double-figures for the Bulldogs with 11 kills. In addition to her 31 assists, junior setter Rachel Guinane contributed 7 kills with a .545 hitting percentage. Miotto added 23 digs to her Big South-leading total. Also instrumental in the victory was freshman Holly Shelton, whose 8 blocks were the highest total posted by a Bulldog this season. Laura Wilcox was Gardner-Webb’s top scorer with 13 kills, and Regina Feagin led the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 14 digs. As a team, Asheville held a decisive advantage in attack percentage, hitting .250 to Gardner-Webb’s .140.

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Friday night when they travel to Radford. The Highlanders (9-6, 0-0) are currently second in the Big South, and split a pair of matches against UNC Asheville last season.

Men's Soccer Trophy

Here's the trophy the Bulldogs brought home from their championship run at the Hyatt Place Select Invitational tournament:

Congratulations to all-tournament performers Lassi Hurskainen, Connor Holzinger, Jake Sides, and Jake Hagedorn, and the rest of the team!

Volleyball Preview: Gardner-Webb

UNC Asheville opens its conference schedule tonight at the Justice Center, taking on the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb University. Asheville (11-5) enters tonight’s match leading the Big South and looking to improve upon an impressive stretch of non-conference play, highlighted by a first-place finish in the USC Upstate Invitational tournament. Gardner-Webb (5-9) currently occupies seventh place in the conference, but the two clubs are much more evenly matched than their records indicate.

In its matches against teams that UNC Asheville has also played, Gardner-Webb has had strikingly similar results. In two matches against Wofford, the Runnin’ Bulldogs lost the first in five sets, and the second in three sets – exactly the same outcomes as in Asheville’s two matches against the Terriers. Gardner-Webb defeated the only other common opponent, Western Carolina, by a 3-1 margin in Cullowhee (Asheville defeated Western in straight sets at the Justice Center earlier this month). The Runnin’ Bulldogs will also enter tonight’s match with the momentum gained from a hard-fought, five set victory over Davidson (2-11) on Saturday night. Gardner-Webb is led by senior Regina Feagin, who ranks second in the Big South with 469 assists and leads the team with 137 digs, and by sophomore Laura Wilcox, who ranks sixth in the conference with a .296 hitting percentage. The Runnin’ Bulldogs have also been improved greatly by the addition of freshman Molly Rhyne, who has a team-high 146 kills to go with 108 digs on the season.

The Bulldogs are coming off a strong performance in the South Carolina State Spikefest tournament over the weekend. Behind standout performances from seniors Lauren Ficker and Raquel Miotto, Asheville cruised past Winston-Salem State and Hampton in straight sets on Friday. The Bulldogs continued to look sharp on Saturday morning, defeating Providence 3-1 before having their four game winning streak snapped at the hands of Wofford. Ficker was selected to the all-tournament team and Miotto was named top libero. Asheville is still battling the injury bug – junior Kelsey Benorden will again be inactive tonight, and junior Jenna Dover and sophomore Cindi Miller are playing hurt. With injuries plaguing the front line, Ficker has taken command. Her .331 hitting percentage ranks second in the Big South, and her team-high 174 kills are seventh-best in the conference. Along the back, Miotto continues to dominate, leading the conference in both digs (5.25 per set) and service aces (0.61).

UNC Asheville has won its last three matches against Gardner-Webb, including victories of 3-0 and 3-1 last year in Asheville and Boiling Springs, respectively. Tonight’s match is a critical opportunity to get an early conference win and build momentum for Friday night’s showdown on the road against second-place Radford (9-6). The match begins at 7pm, and admission is free for students. Alternatively, the game can be viewed online on the Big South Network, beginning at 6:50.

Go Bulldogs!!!

Bulldogs win the Hyatt Place Select Invitational Tournament!

It was a huge weekend for the UNC Asheville men’s soccer program, as the Bulldogs claimed their first tournament title in more than 20 years. Asheville (3-4-1) defeated Lipscomb on Friday and Belmont on Sunday to win the Hyatt Place Select Invitational in Nashville.

The Bulldogs opened the tournament with a major challenge in Lipscomb. The host school knocked off Asheville to win the tournament one year ago, and was the favorite leading into this season’s event. Indeed, the Bisons did an outstanding job of controlling possession and attacking the goal, outshooting Asheville 36-10 in the match. Yet it was the Bulldogs who struck first when, in the 19th minute, sophomore Connor Holzinger was awarded a penalty kick and drove it home for his second goal of the season. Asheville clung to the one goal advantage until the 65th minute, when insurance came in the form of a strike from sophomore Bryan Bartels, assisted by freshman Zachary Odum. The Bisons finally broke through the wall in front of the Asheville net in the 73rd minute, as Garret Pettis managed to slip a shot past goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen. Hurskainen was the star of the match, making an incredible 15 saves to enable the Bulldogs to defeat a Lipscomb side that held significant advantages in most statistical categories.

Asheville hit the pitch next on Sunday afternoon, to take on a Belmont squad that defeated Alabama A&M on the opening night of the tournament. Again, the Bulldogs struck first. This time it was sophomore Jake Hagedorn who, in the 27th minute, collected the loose ball following a corner kick and beat the Belmont keeper for his first career goal. Asheville maintained the 1-0 lead for most of the match, as Hurskainen again put on a goalkeeping clinic. In the 81st minute, however, the Bruins found an answer when midfielder Cullen Hall deflected a corner kick into the net and forced the match into overtime. The first overtime period came and went without the deciding goal, despite an intense attack from Belmont. Finally, after over 104 minutes of soccer, Jake Sides scored the game-winner. Belmont cleared an Asheville corner kick, but Holzinger drove it back in to Sides, who finished the play off for his first goal of the season. Again, Hurskainen deserves a great deal of the credit for the Bulldogs’ performance. The Asheville keeper recorded 10 saves in the match as the Bulldogs again defeated an opponent by whom they were outshot (this time 23-15). Hurskainen, Holzinger, Hagedorn, and Sides were all named to the all-tournament.

The Bulldogs still find themselves near the bottom of the Big South table, but the tournament victory should give them a great deal of confidence as conference play draws near. Asheville is idle until September 27, when they travel to Lexington to face #22 Kentucky.