University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Volleyball Looks to Extend Win Streak at Lipscomb and BSC - UNC Asheville Bulldogs Official Athletics Site
01.01.1970 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2005
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville will look to continue its seven-match winning streak and head coach Julie Torbett will be looking for her 200th career victory as the Bulldogs travel to Lipscomb and Birmingham-Southern this week.
The Bulldogs are off to a 9-2 start and have won seven consecutive matches heading into Thursday night's match at Lipscomb. Asheville is coming off its third-straight tournament title as the Bulldogs defeated Samford, Elon, and Western Carolina last weekend at the Justice Center. Torbett has a 199-180 record in her 12th season as head coach of the Bulldogs.
"It is a landmark number for any coach but we have to focus on the matches. We, as coaches, prepare our players and the players go out and execute, then the success will take care of itself. The biggest thing about 200 wins is that it is the history of the program. It is not just this team, there are a lot of people who can take pride in the accomplishment," said Torbett.
Elif Unlu was named tournament MVP for the second straight week at the UNCA Volleyball Classic. She is averaging 3.74 kills and 3.76 digs per game. She has eight double-doubles in the first 11 matches of the season and has been in double-figures in digs in each of the last 10 matches. Rose Butler is Asheville's leading hitter in terms of attack percentage. She is hitting .333 on the season with 113 kills on 261 attacks. Ashley Wrightenberry and Allison Lambert are leading the team in blocks. Wrightenberry averages 1.38 blocks per game while Lambert averages 1.10 blocks per game.
Lipscomb is 3-9 on the season and is coming off a 3-2 loss at Tennessee State on Tuesday. Lady Bison libero Ann Mullins is this week's Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week as she set an A-Sun record with 43 digs in a four-game match against Tennessee Tech last week.
"It is tough to travel six hours and play a conference match. Stopping in Nashville gives us a chance to get in one more match before playing BSC. Lipscomb is much improved from last season and it is always hard to play on someone else's home floor. We will have to focus and play good volleyball to be successful," said Torbett.
The Bulldogs will open up Big South play on Saturday at Birmingham-Southern. The Panthers are 6-6 on the season after falling to Alabama on Saturday. Jana Smelley leads BSC averaging 3.82 kills per game and Alex Plummer averages 4.68 digs per game.
"Birmingham-Southern is one of the top teams in the conference. They have an offensive setter. They play great defense and have a couple of hitters that can put the ball down. Everything I would say about our team can be said for BSC. It should be a great match," remarked Torbett.
Asheville and Birmingham-Southern split last season's matches with each team winning on its home floor. The match begins at 2 p.m. CT and live stats are available on the BSC website at bscsports.net.
