University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Friday, November 5
Asheville, N.C.
6 p.m.
UNC Asheville
6-16,4-9Big South
3
vs
2
Hampton
2-18,1-12Big South
1
2
3
4
5
F
Hampton
24
23
25
28
9
2
UNC Asheville
26
25
15
26
15
3
Photo Courtesy of Rachel Daly
Hackett’s career day lifts Asheville past Hampton in five sets
11.05.2021 | Women's Volleyball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Behind a career night from senior Molly Hackett (24 kills and 20 digs), the UNC Asheville volleyball team edged out Hampton in a five-set battle (26-24, 25-23, 15-25, 26-28, 15-9) Friday evening at the Justice Center to claim its second consecutive victory.
Stat Standouts – As mentioned previously, Hackett had a fantastic night posting a career-high 24 kills on a .316 hitting percentage to go with 20 digs that also set a new personal best. Hackett's 24 kill-performance is tied for the third-most by any player in program history for a single match and the most by a Bulldog since teammate Peyton McClinton racked up 25 kills in a match vs. Radford last March.
Setting up Hackett and the rest of the Bulldog attackers was the duo of Brandy Kishbaugh and Ona Elkins. For the second straight match, each member of Asheville's setting duo posted a double-double. Kishbaugh had 28 assists and 13 digs, while Elkins posted 18 assists and 11 digs. Finally, the Bulldogs continued their recent success on the block, finishing with 15 total blocks. It marks the third time in the last four matches that the Bulldogs have posted a double-digit block total.
Set 1 – In the middle stages of the opening set, it looked like the Bulldogs may run away from Hampton as they built a five-point lead, 19-14. However, the Lady Pirates battled back to tie the score at 23. After the two conference rivals traded points to make it 24-24, back-to-back kills from Lexy Cole and McClinton gave the first set to the Bulldogs, 26-24.
Set 2 – When the two teams returned to the court for the second frame, it was a much tighter played set throughout as no lead grew to more than three points. With every point carrying more weight, the Bulldogs turned to their defense to power through. Six of Asheville's 15 blocks on the night came in the second. Asheville's 25-23 set win in the frame was punctuated with a solo block from Nina Finderle to give Asheville a commanding 2-0 lead.
Set 3 – Despite being on the verge of being swept in three sets, Hampton came back in the third and put together one of its most complete efforts on the night. Offensively, the Lady Pirates attacked at a .256 clip with 13 kills while holding the Bulldog attackers to a -.047 hitting percentage in the frame. With this disparity in offensive production, Hampton went on to take the third frame easily, 25-15.
Set 4 – The fourth frame was the most tightly contested of the match, with eight tied scores and five lead changes. Hackett was on fire for Asheville as she totaled nine kills in the fourth frame alone. Despite Hackett's play, Hampton found itself right there at the end to force a fifth set. The score was tied at 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 before the Lady Pirates netted back-to-back points to force a winner-take-all fifth frame, 28-26.
Set 5 – Playing in its second straight five-set match, Asheville came out ready to play, scoring nine of the first 12 points in the fifth. Hampton did close the gap to four before Asheville finished the match off, 15-9.
Note from Coach – "Tremendous effort by our girls tonight," said Head Coach Frederico Santos. "They fought for every point and did not give up even when the other team made a comeback. I thought we were strong and resolute in the fifth set and came out with a decisive victory. We want to thank all of our fans that came out tonight and a special thanks to our track and field/ cross country student-athletes and all the other student-athletes that came and supported us tonight. You were awesome!!"
Next Up – The Bulldogs will hope to make it three wins in a row on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Campbell to the Justice Center for their home finale. The start time for Saturday's tilt is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+. Prior to the match, the team will honor its six seniors in Hackett, McClinton, Hannah Spicer, Anna Skryd, Grace Volk, and Camilly Cristiny.
Stat Standouts – As mentioned previously, Hackett had a fantastic night posting a career-high 24 kills on a .316 hitting percentage to go with 20 digs that also set a new personal best. Hackett's 24 kill-performance is tied for the third-most by any player in program history for a single match and the most by a Bulldog since teammate Peyton McClinton racked up 25 kills in a match vs. Radford last March.
Setting up Hackett and the rest of the Bulldog attackers was the duo of Brandy Kishbaugh and Ona Elkins. For the second straight match, each member of Asheville's setting duo posted a double-double. Kishbaugh had 28 assists and 13 digs, while Elkins posted 18 assists and 11 digs. Finally, the Bulldogs continued their recent success on the block, finishing with 15 total blocks. It marks the third time in the last four matches that the Bulldogs have posted a double-digit block total.
Set 1 – In the middle stages of the opening set, it looked like the Bulldogs may run away from Hampton as they built a five-point lead, 19-14. However, the Lady Pirates battled back to tie the score at 23. After the two conference rivals traded points to make it 24-24, back-to-back kills from Lexy Cole and McClinton gave the first set to the Bulldogs, 26-24.
Set 2 – When the two teams returned to the court for the second frame, it was a much tighter played set throughout as no lead grew to more than three points. With every point carrying more weight, the Bulldogs turned to their defense to power through. Six of Asheville's 15 blocks on the night came in the second. Asheville's 25-23 set win in the frame was punctuated with a solo block from Nina Finderle to give Asheville a commanding 2-0 lead.
Set 3 – Despite being on the verge of being swept in three sets, Hampton came back in the third and put together one of its most complete efforts on the night. Offensively, the Lady Pirates attacked at a .256 clip with 13 kills while holding the Bulldog attackers to a -.047 hitting percentage in the frame. With this disparity in offensive production, Hampton went on to take the third frame easily, 25-15.
Set 4 – The fourth frame was the most tightly contested of the match, with eight tied scores and five lead changes. Hackett was on fire for Asheville as she totaled nine kills in the fourth frame alone. Despite Hackett's play, Hampton found itself right there at the end to force a fifth set. The score was tied at 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 before the Lady Pirates netted back-to-back points to force a winner-take-all fifth frame, 28-26.
Set 5 – Playing in its second straight five-set match, Asheville came out ready to play, scoring nine of the first 12 points in the fifth. Hampton did close the gap to four before Asheville finished the match off, 15-9.
Note from Coach – "Tremendous effort by our girls tonight," said Head Coach Frederico Santos. "They fought for every point and did not give up even when the other team made a comeback. I thought we were strong and resolute in the fifth set and came out with a decisive victory. We want to thank all of our fans that came out tonight and a special thanks to our track and field/ cross country student-athletes and all the other student-athletes that came and supported us tonight. You were awesome!!"
Next Up – The Bulldogs will hope to make it three wins in a row on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Campbell to the Justice Center for their home finale. The start time for Saturday's tilt is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+. Prior to the match, the team will honor its six seniors in Hackett, McClinton, Hannah Spicer, Anna Skryd, Grace Volk, and Camilly Cristiny.
Team Stats
Hamp
UNC-A
Kills
60
60
Errors
27
29
Attempts
192
183
Hitting %
.172
.169
Points
76
80
Assists
54
53
Aces
6
5
Blocks
10
15
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
24
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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