University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Volleyball Travels to Jacksonville This Weekend
09.18.2014 | Women's Volleyball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville volleyball team plays its final in-season tournament this weekend when the Bulldogs travel to the state of Florida for the Radisson Invitational in Jacksonville.
Asheville (2-9) will play at two different sites during the weekend tournament that begins on Friday. The Bulldogs play two matches at Jacksonville University on Friday and then play at North Florida on Saturday. Asheville faces 6-4 JU Friday at 10 a.m. and takes on Nicholls State later in the day at 3 p.m. On Saturday, the Bulldogs journey to North Florida for a 3 p.m. match.
The Blue & White are trying to bounce after a disappointing 3-0 loss to Western Carolina in their home opener on Tuesday night. Asheville could never get untracked in the match and lost for the fourth straight time.
The Bulldogs will have their hands full this weekend. They'll face a 6-4 Jacksonville team that just won a tournament at Charleston Southern last weekend. Nicholls State is 3-6 on the year, while North Florida is 3-7.
“We've got three tough matches again this weekend,” stated Asheville coach Frederico Santos. “Jacksonville went to the NCAA Tournament last year and won a match. Nicholls State and North Florida are good teams but like us have faced tough schedules in the first part of the year. We'll need to play well to have a chance at having any kind of success.
“The team is getting better, but they still have a lot to learn,” added Santos. “We have a lot of freshmen who are playing key positions for us, but they are keeping pace and doing their very best. I think we have a great group that's going to develop this year.”
Christine Lakatos and Shelby Erickson lead Asheville in kills with a 2.24 average. Lakatos tops the club in digs with a 2.34 mark. Madison Vaughn is the Bulldogs leader in blocks at 0.94 per set.
This weekend's tournament will be a homecoming for three Asheville players who hail from the state of Florida. They are junior outside hitter Christine Lakatos (Lauderhill, Fla.), junior right side Catherine Fischer (Miami) and sophomore Shelby Erickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.).
After this weekend's action, the Bulldogs return home to face Wofford on Tuesday night (Sept. 23) before opening Big South Conference play next weekend at Gardner-Webb (Sept. 26).
