University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
Volleyball Wins Seventh-Straight at Winthrop
10.16.2009 | Women's Volleyball
UNC Asheville picks up its first victory in Rock Hill since 1996 while it improves to 18-5 on the season and remains a perfect 7-0 in Big South Conference play.
Winthrop was led by Sara Felts who had 12 kills and Kaley Viola with 11 kills and 11 digs. The Eagles dropped to 13-7 overall and 5-2 in the Big South.
"Our blocking was the key to this match," said Asheville head coach Julie Torbett. "We struggled in the first set but really started blocking well the rest of the match. This was a great road win. We are really coming together as a team. Everyone on the roster contributed tonight. Kelsey, Cindi, and Lauren led us statistically but it took the entire team and I am so proud of the way we battled back after the first set."
Asheville out-blocked Winthrop 8-2 in the match after not recording a block in the opening set. Winthrop hit .378 in the first set while Asheville hit .088. The Bulldogs responded to hit .444 in the second set, .263 in the third, and .297 in the fourth to out-hit the Eagles .265 to .218 in the match.
Raquel Miotto led all players with 17 aces and had two service aces. Lauren Ficker added nine kills and hit .421 on the match.
Kelly Taylor and Kellie Sellers each had nine kills for Winthrop. Taylor led the Eagles with a .400 attack percentage. The loss was Winthrop's first home loss of the season and keeps Asheville undefeated on its opponent's home court.
The Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 12 matches and are off to their best conference start since 1992 when their last won the Big South title. The Dogs will finish their first trip through the league on Saturday when they travel to Coastal Carolina for a 2 p.m. match. With Friday's win, Asheville is assured of being in first place in the league at the half way point of the conference season.
