Bulldog Volleyball to Play at Liberty & Radford This Weekend

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville volleyball team gets back into Big South Conference play this weekend with a trip to the Commonwealth of Virginia for two matches. Asheville faces Liberty at the Vines Center on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a match on Saturday vs. Radford at the Dedmon Center starting at 4 p.m. Friday's match vs. the Lady Flames will be video-streamed and can be seen at www.uncabulldogs.com.

The Bulldogs (7-6, 1-0 BSC) opened Big South Conference play with a thrilling five-set victory over Gardner-Webb last Friday night at Justice Center. Asheville lost the first two sets but roared back to win the match.

"I was really proud of our team last week to find a way to win against Gardner-Webb," commented first-year coach Frederico Santos. "We battled hard, made some adjustments and got better as the match wore on to pick up the victory. However, I would rather we not do that this weekend on the road."

Santos expects strong tests for his team this weekend. Liberty is 6-9 overall and 1-0 in the Big South. Radford has a 5-9 worksheet and 0-1 in league play. Liberty edged Radford last Friday in five sets.

"Both Liberty and Radford have very good teams," admitted Santos. "Forget their overall record as they both played demanding non-conference schedules and their record suffered a little bit. We will have to be at our best to have a chance to win either match."

After this weekend's action, the Bulldogs finally come home for some home matches. Asheville has played just one match at Justice Center this year. Next week, the Bulldogs host Western Carolina (Oct. 4), Presbyterian College (Oct. 8) and Winthrop (Oct. 9).

BULLDOG NOTES

Asheville is 3-0 in five-set matches this season.

The Bulldogs lost two close matches to Liberty last year and won two close matches against Radford. The Lady Flames beat Asheville in four sets at Justice Center and five sets in Lynchburg. The Bulldogs downed Radford in four sets at the Dedmon Center and in five sets at Justice Center.

Asheville has won its last three Big South Conference openers but has not played Liberty in a Big South Conference opening match since the 1991 season when the Bulldogs downed the Flames in four games at Justice Center. It was Liberty's first ever match in Big South Conference play.

Asheville is 24-8 in Big South Conference matches over the last two years.

Cindi Miller leads the Big South in kills per set (3.77).

Jaimie Dorfman is second in the league in service aces (0.37).

Alex Stewart is fourth in digs (4.60).

The Bulldogs are 10-6 in BSC road matches over the last two years. Three of those losses were in five sets.