Volleyball Opens 2008 Season at North Carolina Central

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The UNC Asheville volleyball team opens the 2008 season on Friday with two matches in the North Carolina Central Invitational.

The Bulldogs begin play in the nine-team tournament with a match against Elon at 1 p.m., followed by a match against Florida Gulf Coast at 5 p.m. Asheville continues play in the tournament vs. Maine Saturday at 9 a.m. The tourney is divided into two pools. The top two teams from each pool will compete in the championship round on Saturday at 3 and 5 p.m.

UNC Asheville is ready to play a match. The Bulldogs hosted their annual Blue-White Scrimmage on Tuesday night but will now get a chance to play.

“We have worked very hard in the preseason but now we need to play a match,” commented head coach Julie Torbett. “We're tired of playing each other and anxious to play someone else.”

Torbett expects tough competition this weekend.

“We know that Elon is a well-coached team that has been in the middle of the Southern Conference standings,” said Torbett. “Florida Gulf Coast is a program that's in the top 50 in the nation. They're very good and are expected to win the Atlantic Sun this season.

“Maine has been a little down but I expect them to have a good team when we play them on Saturday,” added Torbett. “We know we have three matches but hopefully we'll get a chance to play two more at the end of the day on Saturday.

“This tournament will show us things that we need to work on for the rest of the year,” Torbett also said.

UNC Asheville returns five starters from last year's 12-22 campaign. Junior libero Raquel Miotto was named to the Big South Preseason All-Conference team on Thursday. The Bulldogs also return junior blocker Lauren Ficker and sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Benorden. Benorden set a freshman record with 500 kills last year and made the league's all-tournament team.

To see how the Asheville volleyball team does this weekend, check on the Bulldogs' web-site at www.uncabulldogs.com.