University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Liberty
Liberty Holds off Bulldog Volleyball, 3-1
10.04.2014 | Women's Volleyball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville won the first set, but Big South-leading Liberty won the next three to slip past the Bulldogs, 3-1 in Big South Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Justice Center. The Lady Flames won, 20-25, 25-19, 25-29, 26-24.
Asheville was led by Shelby Erickson with a team-high 15 kills, while Catherine Fischer added 10 kills. Christine Lakatos contributed nine kills and 10 digs. Bryn Pfeiffer chipped in a game-high 20 digs.
Liberty (15-5, 3-0 BSC) won for the sixth straight time and gave Lady Flames coach Shane Pinder his 200th career victory, all at Liberty. LU was led by Caroline Douglas with 21 kills, while Hannah Weidner contributed 15. Sierena Vorster finished with 10 kills.
Asheville (3-15, 0-3 BSC) battled hard in the fourth set. The Bulldogs trailed 18-9 and 23-19 but roared back to tie the set at 24-24. Erickson led the charge with five kills in the set. Her last kill knotted the set at 24-24.
But the Flames got a kill from Douglas to reach match point at 25-24. Weidner finished the match with a kill off a long rally to give Liberty the victory.
“We're making progress, but you still want to win the match,” stated Bulldog coach Frederico Santos. “Our effort was excellent against an outstanding team in Liberty. However, we got a little sloppy a few times and Liberty took full advantage. We're getting there but we've got to keep get more consistent throughout the whole match.”
Asheville stunned the Flames in the first set. The Bulldogs used an early 7-2 run to race to a 16-10 lead. Erickson had five kills in the opening set, and Asheville maintained a lead the whole game to win 25-20.
Liberty quickly rallied in the second set behind Weidner. She had seven kills in the second set on 10 swings to lead the visitors to a 25-19 win.
The third set was even for the first part before a surge by the Lady Flames late gave them the lead. Leading 17-16, LU went on a 4-1 run to take control of the set at 21-17. Four different Flames had kills during the run. The Bulldogs could get no closer as Liberty won 25-19.
The Flames looked in total control in the fourth set as it went on a 10-2 run early to race to a 13-4 lead. Liberty led 18-9 and appeared ready to cruise to the win before the Bulldogs roared back. Vorster had five kills in the set.
Asheville travels to Presbyterian College Friday night for a 7 p.m. Big South Conference battle.
