University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
11-11,5-9Big South
USC Upstate
13-14,8-6Big South
Asheville Drops Match to USC Upstate on Senior Day
11.16.2024 | Women's Volleyball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville volleyball team hosted USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon for its final regular season match of the season, and fell to the Spartans in four sets (25-14, 22-25, 23-25, 18-25).
Before Saturday's match, the Bulldogs honored their three seniors: Elle Thigpen, Matilde Teixeira, and Michelle Thao.
Set One (25-14) – The Bulldogs opened the match in dominating fashion, earning a double-digit scoring margin win behind 14 kills, four service aces, and taking advantage of seven USC Upstate attack errors. Asheville opened the match with a 4-1 lead before the Spartans tied the set at four. The Bulldogs responded with an 11-0 run, sparked by a block from Albertine van der Goot. Van der Goot finished the match with 11 kills, a solo block, and four block assists. Asheville held its lead for the rest of the set to earn a 1-0 match lead.
Set Two (22-25) – USC Upstate did not allow Asheville to jump out to the same dominating lead the Bulldogs had in the opening frame, as the two teams were less than four points apart for the entire set. A kill by van der Goot put the Bulldogs ahead 18-16 before the Spartans responded with the following six points to take the lead 21-18 and remain ahead for the rest of the set.
Set Three (23-25) – The third set featured nine ties and seven lead changes. After being down by one, Asheville scored three consecutive points to take the lead 11-9. This would be Asheville's final lead of the set, as Upstate responded with a 6-0 run. The Bulldogs would make it a one-point set by scoring the following three points, sparked by back-to-back kills from van der Goot, but the Spartans followed with a 4-0 run to earn the largest lead of the set (19-14). With Upstate two points away from the win, Asheville sparked a 5-1 run to bring the score back within one, but a Spartan kill gave Upstate the 2-1 match lead. Cackovic had an ace and two kills in Asheville's late set surge. She finished the day with eight kills, three aces, and six digs.
Set Four (18-25) – In the final set of the day, the Spartans and Bulldogs were deadlocked at eight following a 4-0 run by Asheville. An Upstate error followed by back-to-back aces from Cackovic and a kill from Lydia Pate put the Bulldogs even with the Spartans. Pate finished the match with a career-high 11 kills. The Spartans moved ahead 13-9 before Asheville brought the score back within one with back-to-back kills from Kimberly Czepukaitis and a kill from van der Goot. Czepukaitis finished the match with seven kills, a block, and five block assists. Back-to-back Spartan attack errors had the teams locked at 15, which would be the final tie of the match, as the Spartans followed by scoring the next two points and remained in the lead for the rest of the set, closing the game out on a 7-1 run.
Additional Statistic Leaders – Michelle Thao led the Bulldogs on defense with 30 digs, followed by Ana Djurovic with nine digs and six kills. Payton Rolfsen had 26 assists, seven digs, and two service aces, and Kat Davis had 16 assists, eight digs, and three service aces.
The Bulldogs out killed Upstate 52-40. The Spartans took advantage of 14 Asheville service errors while only committing one.
Postseason Play – For the first time since 2019, the Bulldogs are headed to the Big South Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament. Asheville enters the 2024 tournament as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 Radford on Friday, November 22, at 3 p.m. The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the league's postseason championship, which will be contested Nov. 22-24 at the Millis Athletic Center on the campus of High Point University.
𝕎𝔼'ℝ𝔼 𝕀ℕ!!
— UNC Asheville Volleyball (@uncavlvb) November 16, 2024
We are headed to the Big South Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament for the first time in five years as the No. 5 seed! 🤩
We face Radford at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 in the Millis Athletic Center on the campus of High Point University. #ALLinAVL pic.twitter.com/ohWhEdvlUo
High Point collected its seventh outright/shared regular-season title in the last eight years and enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Winthrop is the No. 2 seed based on its final Big South record of 12-2. Both High Point and Winthrop earn byes into the semifinals in the six-team championship format and open postseason play on Saturday, Nov. 23.
USC Upstate ended 8-6 in league action for third place in the standings and the No. 3 seed—the Spartans' highest finish since becoming Big South members in 2018. Radford earned the fourth seed following its fourth-place finish at 6-8. UNC Asheville and Presbyterian tied for fifth place in the Big South at 5-9, and the Bulldogs clinched the No. 5 seed with their 2-0 season sweep of the Blue Hose, pushing PC into the sixth and final seed.
The full tournament schedule is as follows:
Friday, Nov. 22 – First Round (ESPN+)
(4) Radford vs. (5) UNC Asheville, 3:00pm(3) USC Upstate vs. (6) Presbyterian, 6:00pm
Saturday, Nov. 23 – Semifinals (ESPN+)
(1) High Point vs. 4/5 Winner, 3:00pm(2) Winthrop vs. 3/6 Winner, 6:00pm
Sunday, Nov. 24 – Championship (ESPN+)
TBD at TBD, 4:00pm
Stay Updated – To stay updated with Asheville volleyball, follow the team on 𝕩.
About Women's Athletics Presenting Partner First Bank
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