Volleyball Falls in Five at ETSU

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.?Kelsey Benorden posted her fifth double-double with 20 kills and 15 digs and Lauren Ficker added a season-high 19 kills but UNC Asheville saw a five-match winning streak come to an end as East Tennessee State came back for a 29-31, 31-29, 25-30, 30-18, 15-10 victory Wednesday night.

Benorden, the Big South Conference Freshman of the Week, led all Bulldog (6-9) hitters with her 20 kills. Her 15 digs were second on the team behind 21 digs from Raquel Miotto. Ficker who set a school record for attack percentage last weekend hit .486 in the match with 19 kills and just two errors on 35 swings. Ashley Wrightenberry also chipped in 10 kills for Asheville.

ETSU (8-7) placed four hitters in double figures led by Callie Kiselich with 20 kills. Desiree Dyck had 14 kills, and Kristen Provchy and Laura Waddel had 11 and 10 kills respectively. Kaena Apana had 24 digs to lead all players in the match.

The two teams split the first two games by identical 31-29 scores. The Bulldogs took control of the match winning game three 30-25 hitting .255 while holding the Bucs to a .054 percentage. Game four was the opposite as ETSU hit a match high .375 while the Dogs hit just .026.

In the finale, both teams hit over .300 but the Bucs strong serving pushed ETSU's home winning streak to 11 straight matches. The Bucs had 10 aces in the match to just three for the Dogs. ETSU out-blocked Asheville 11-10.

Asheville played without Aysha Greer for the first time and drops to 0-2 in five-game matches this season.

The Dogs will travel to Presbyterian College on Saturday for a 2 p.m. match before returning to the Justice Center on Sunday to face Jacksonville in a 2 p.m. match that will be broadcast live the Big South Edge.

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Players Mentioned

Kelsey Benorden

Lauren Ficker

Raquel Miotto

Ashley Wrightenberry

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics