Bulldog Volleyball at N.C. Central on Tuesday

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville volleyball team is on the road Tuesday night when the Bulldogs travel to North Carolina Central for a battle with the Eagles starting at 7 p.m.

Asheville (1-5) picked up its first win of the season with a hard-fought five-set win over Elon in the final match of the Kennesaw State Invitational on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost to #7 Purdue of Friday and a heart-breaking five-set defeat to Kennesaw earlier on Saturday.

“We played some good volleyball this weekend,” declared Bulldog coach Frederico Santos. “The scores may not show it against Purdue but we had some great rallies and did some good work against a team that could win the national championship this year.

“We bounced back Saturday and could have won both of our matches but we did a good job getting a win against Elon,” added Santos. “I liked our determination and the way we battled the entire weekend.”

Sophomore outside hitter Shelby Erickson enjoyed a solid weekend with 16 kills and nine digs against Kennesaw State, followed by 13 kills vs. Elon. Freshman Cameron Pryor had nine kills vs. KSU and seven in the win over Elon. Catherine Fischer added 17 kills in the two matches.

The Bulldogs turn their attention to N.C. Central. The Eagles are 0-8 on the young season, but Santos expects a very tough match in Durham on Tuesday.

“N.C. Central is 0-8 because it has played a tough schedule much like us,” commented Santos. “It's always a tough match with them. They've had some good moments in some matches. We'll need to play well to have a chance at winning.”

Asheville heads to the Georgia Invitational this weekend as the Bulldogs face Georgia, Harvard and N.C. State.

Erickson leads Asheville in kills with a 2.61 per set average. Junior Christine Lakatos is next with a 2.09 mark. She tops the team in digs at 2.57. Freshman middle blocker Diana Enriquez leads in blocks with a 0.70 average.

The Bulldogs home opener is a week from Tuesday (Sept. 16) when they welcome mountain rival Western Carolina to Justice Center at 7 p.m.