University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
0-1,0-0Big South
West Georgia
3-1,0-0ASUN
Volleyball Battles but Drops Both Matches on Day One of UWG Tournament
09.06.2024 | Women's Volleyball
CARROLLTON, Ga. – The UNC Asheville volleyball team opened the 2024 season on Friday as the Bulldogs faced West Georgia and Georgia State in the University of West Georgia Tournament. Asheville fell in four sets in both matches.
FIRST MATCH | BULLDOGS 1, WOLVES 3
Michelle Thao and Matilde Teixeira led Asheville's defensive efforts, each recording career-highs, with Thao tallying 19 digs and Teixeira with 15. Kylie Cackovic was one kill away from matching her career-high in kills as she recorded 17 kills, adding on nine digs. In her Bulldog debut, Payton Rolfsen recorded a double-double with 25 assists and 12 digs and Riley Barr recorded 11 assists in her Bulldog debut. At the net, Kimberly Czepukaitis led Asheville with six blocks and was followed by Baylor Herlehy and Albertine van der Goot with four apiece. Herlehy was second behind Cackovic in kills with eight and led the team with a .300 attack percentage.
West Georgia opened the match on a 6-1 run before Asheville brought the score within two following back-to-back kills from Cackovic. The Wolves extended its lead to three before two errors and a kill from Teixeira evened the score at eight. The Bulldogs went on to take their first lead of the set following a service ace from Teixeira (12-11). Asheville extended its lead out to three following a kill from van der Goot (16-13), but that was as large of a lead as Asheville would take, as UWG answered by tying the score at 18 and closing the set on a 7-4 run. West Georgia took a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 win.
The Bulldogs opened the second frame with a 6-2 run and never looked back, as Asheville held the lead for the entire second set. Asheville went on several runs throughout the set, the first being a 7-1 run sparked by a kill from Avery Loeback that helped Asheville take a 13-4 lead. Asheville's next run set the Bulldogs ahead by 14 points (20-6). Teixeira started the run with a kill, followed by back-to-back aces from Thao. Teixeira followed with another kill, and the run ended with kills from van der Goot and Herlehy. West Georgia did not go down easy as UWG responded with an 8-2 run to bring the set back within five points (24-19). A kill from van der Goot helped the Bulldogs win 25-19 and even the match 1-1.
It was a back-and-forth start to the third set, as there were four ties and two lead changes through the opening minutes of action. West Georgia opened the scoring up with an 11-2 run to put the Wolves ahead 20-12. West Georgia closed the set out on a 5-1 run to take the third set 25-13.
West Georgia's momentum carried over to start the fourth set, as the Wolves opened with a 5-2 lead. A kill from Herlehy tipped momentum back in Asheville's favor, as her kill sparked a 7-0 run to put the Bulldogs ahead 9-5. West Georgia responded with a 5-1 run to tie the set at 12. The Wolves quickly worked back into the lead with a 7-1 run (19-13). Back-to-back attack errors from UWG helped the Bulldogs cut West Georgia's lead down to four, but that was as close as Asheville would get, as the Wolves went on to win the fourth set 25-18 to end the match.
SECOND MATCH | BULLDOGS 1, PANTHERS 3
In Asheville's second match of the day, the Bulldogs found themselves down 2-0 before rallying back in the third set to make it 2-1 to avoid the sweep. Georgia State bounced back in the fourth and final set to secure the victory.
In the opening frame, Georgia State jumped out to a 7-3 lead before a kill from Loeback sparked a 5-0 run to tie the set at 12. Georgia State would go on to extend its lead back out to three, before two kills from Teixeira would tie the set at 20. The Panthers would close the opening frame on a 5-2 run (25-22).
It was Asheville that jumped ahead early in the second set, as three consecutive attack errors from Georgia State helped the Bulldogs to an early 3-0 lead. The Panthers would take a 7-6 lead before the Bulldogs responded with a 6-1 run to jump ahead 12-8. Lydia Pate sparked Asheville's run with a kill, and back-to-back blocks from Pate, Teixeira, and Loeback helped the Bulldogs' run continue. Georgia State went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 12, before going on a 6-2 run to earn the lead for the remainder of the set. The Panthers went on to win the second set 25-18.
The Bulldogs were determined early to avoid the three-set sweep, as there were seven ties and six lead changes through the opening minutes of play. Tied at eight, an error, followed by back-to-back kills from Herlehy and Cackovic and an ace from Thao, helped the Bulldogs ahead 11-8. Georgia State responded by tying the score at 13 and taking a 16-14 lead before Asheville tied the score at 16. A service error allowed Georgia State to go ahead by one, but this would be the Panthers' final lead of the set, as Asheville went on to take the victory in the fourth set 25-21. The Bulldogs took advantage of six Panther errors to help Asheville score the final nine points needed to send the match into a fourth set.
In the night's final set, Georgia State scored the first point and never trailed for the entire set. Asheville kept the score close, as the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run to cut Georgia State's lead down to one (10-9) and tied the set at 20 following a kill from Herlehy and a Georgia State attack error. The Panthers regained a one-point lead, but a kill from van der Goot evened the score at 21. This would be Asheville's final point of the match as Georgia State closed the match on a 4-0 run (25-21).
Cackovic's dominance at the net continued as she recorded 15 kills and added seven digs. Herlehy had 10 kills and a team-high attack percentage of .421, and Teixeira recorded nine kills. Rolfsen led the team with 22 assists, Kat Davis had nine, and Barr had seven. Pate led the team with two solo blocks and six block assists, and Thao had a team-high 18 digs.
UP NEXT
Asheville concludes its time at the UWG Tournament tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 7, as the Bulldogs face Morgan State at 11 a.m. Links to tomorrow's match: Live Stats | Livestream
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