Men's Soccer Preview: High Point

UNC Asheville will kick off conference play on Saturday afternoon with a tough match at Greenwood Field against the Panthers of High Point University. The Bulldogs (4-5-1, 0-0-0) have come away victorious in three of their last four outings, including a 1-0 victory over East Tennessee State on Tuesday. High Point (5-3-0, 1-0-0) opened its conference slate on Wednesday by pounding a good Gardner-Webb team, 5-0, on its home field.

High Point demonstrated Wednesday why it was projected as a Big South title contender in this year’s preseason poll. Five different Panthers scored against the second-ranked keeper in the Big South, and High Point goalie Michael Chesler turned in his fourth shutout performance of the season during the match in Boiling Springs, NC. Gardner-Webb is not a likely candidate to be blown out at home – the Runnin’ Bulldogs were off to a 2-0 start in conference play, with shutout victories on the road against Presbyterian and Radford. The Panther offense is spearheaded by brothers Ferijo (3 goals, 1 assist) and Karo Okiomah (2 goals, 2 assists), and by senior midfielder Matt Tuttle, who leads the team with five assists on the season. Chesler has played every minute of the season in the net for High Point, and ranks fourth in the conference with a 1.38 goals against average.

The Bulldogs have progressed dramatically during the young season, and enter the match with a good deal of momentum. Two weeks ago, Asheville defeated Lipscomb and Belmont to win the Hyatt Place Select Invitational – the Bulldogs’ first tournament championship in over 20 years. After a hard-fought loss against nationally ranked Kentucky, Asheville responded with the win over ETSU on Tuesday. Lassi Hurskainen recorded his first shutout of the season in that performance, lowering his goals against average to 1.55 (fifth in the Big South). Hurskainen’s performance in goal is a big part of the reason that the Bulldogs have been so competitive this season despite sometimes struggling to convert on the offensive end. Connor Holzinger has emerged as a star, leading the team with six points (two goals and two assists) while performing equally well on defense. Jake Hagedorn, who scored the winning goal on Tuesday, and Bryan Bartels also each have two goals on the season. Bryan George, the leading returning scorer from last season, has yet to crack the score sheet but has come close on a number of occasions.

UNC Asheville played High Point to a 1-1 draw on the road last season. If the Bulldogs are able to keep the scoring down again this year, they will have a great opportunity to claim a big conference win on Saturday. The match kicks off at 2 pm, and admission is free.

Go Bulldogs!!

Volleyball Preview: Charleston Southern

The Bulldogs will look to remain undefeated in conference play tomorrow night when they host Charleston Southern at the Justice Center. Something will have to give in the match, as the Buccaneers (10-7, 1-1) boast the Big South’s best hitting percentage at .250, while the Bulldogs (13-5, 2-0) lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage, allowing just .167.

Charleston Southern had a six-game win streak broken up on Tuesday night, losing at home to Winthrop in consecutive sets. Just three nights before, Buccaneers had opened conference play with a convincing three set victory over Presbyterian. CSU has faced a number of the same opponents as UNC Asheville this season, and had little difficulty dispatching the Citadel, South Carolina State, and Savannah State. In the opening weekend of the season, however, the Bucs fell in straight sets to North Carolina State, a team that the Bulldogs topped en route to their USC Upstate Invitational championship.

Preseason all-conference selection Amanda Hill has lived up to the hype thus far for the Bucs. Her .312 hitting percentage ranks her fourth in the Big South, and she is second in the conference in kills and ninth in digs. Fellow junior Cori Holeman is also a key component of the dangerous CSU attack, ranking eighth in attack percentage and second in blocks.

The Bulldogs have had a week to rest since an inspired, come-from-behind victory at Radford last Friday night. Middle blocker Lauren Ficker was the star of that performance, with 16 kills and 14 digs. The senior’s .339 season hitting percentage is second-best in the conference. Asheville has also been able to rely on consistently outstanding performances from senior libero Raquel Miotto, who leads the conference in digs and ranks second in service aces, and from junior setter Rachel Guinane, who is eighth in assists and has a team-high .379 hitting percentage (Guinane does not have enough total attacks to qualify for the Big South leaderboard).

UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern split their two matches last season, with each taking five sets to decide. Tomorrow night’s battle should be equally competitive as the teams battle for position in the conference standings.

Go Bulldogs!!!

Volleyball Tops Radford; Men's Soccer Unable to Hold Off Kentucky

The UNC Asheville volleyball team consolidated its position atop the Big South Conference standings on Friday night with a hard-fought victory in five sets on the road against conference rival Radford. The Bulldogs (13-5, 2-0) rallied from a 2-1 deficit, winning consecutive sets to take the match from the Highlanders (9-8, 0-2).

Asheville was once again driven by standout performances from seniors Lauren Ficker (16 kills, .455 hitting percentage, 14 digs) and Raquel Miotto (27 digs), but the match saw exceptional performances from a number of Bulldogs. Sophomore Cindi Miller added 13 kills, junior Rachel Guinane had 47 assists to go with 6 kills, and seniors Brooke and Bridget Holliday totaled 13 and 10 digs, respectively. It was also a big night for Asheville’s freshmen. Playing in front of family and friends from her nearby hometown of Christianburg, Chelsie Kenley recorded eight kills, two blocks, and two digs. Holly Shelton turned in a team-high four blocks, along with seven kills. The Bulldogs faced a varied attack from Radford. Four different Highlanders posted double-digit kills, including senior Lauren Clary who had a match-high 17.

The Bulldogs will be back in action this Friday night (October 2) when they take on Charleston Southern (9-6, 1-0) at the Justice Center in an early key matchup in the Big South conference title hunt.

The men’s soccer team traveled to Lexington yesterday to take on national power Kentucky. Defense reigned in the first half and the match remained scoreless headed into intermission, thanks in part to two critical saves from Lassi Hurskainen. It was Asheville that broke the silence first when, in the 51^st minute, freshman David Wood delivered a cross to sophomore Bryan Bartels who beat the goalkeeper with a line-drive header for the 1-0 advantage. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs’ lead over the 20^th ranked Wildcats would prove short-lived. Kentucky responded with two goals in the 54^th minute to claim the lead and then cemented the advantage with the match’s final goal, in the 83^rd minute. Goalkeeper Dan Williams made four saves in the second half (equaling Hurskainen’s match total) to keep the Asheville attack at bay. The Wildcats outshot the Bulldogs 24-7, and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Asheville will be in action at Greenwood Field tomorrow for its final tune-up before conference play begins. The Bulldogs (3-5-1) take on East Tennessee State (1-3-2) at 4pm. The Buccaneers have performed well against some of the nation’s best this season, defeating Virginia Tech and forcing double overtime before falling to second-ranked North Carolina. Admission to the match is free, and it can also be viewed online on the Big South Network.