University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
4-11,1-1Big South
Charleston Southern
10-6,2-0Big South
Bulldogs Fall to Buccaneers in Four Sets
10.03.2025 | Women's Volleyball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville volleyball team fought through four competitive sets on Friday night (Oct. 3) inside the Justice Center but came up short against Charleston Southern, falling 3–1 (18–25, 25–27, 25–15, 22–25).
Charleston Southern held the lead for the majority of the opening frame, despite Asheville opening the match with three consecutive kills. There went on to be four ties until a kill from the Buccaneers put them ahead 9-8, and CSU led for the remainder of the set. Late in the frame, Asheville cut Charleston Southern's lead back down to two (18-16), but the Buccaneers closed the set out on a 7-2 run.
The second frame went past regulation end, as Asheville cultivated a late set push. Asheville trailed by nine (17-8) before a 13-4 run by Asheville tied the score at 21. Asheville's run comprised six Charleston Southern errors, three Asheville kills, three Bulldog blocks, and an ace. The Bulldogs tied the score at 23, 24, and 25 before Charleston Southern secured the last two points of the set.
The Bulldogs avoided the match sweep with a dominant third set. Asheville led the entire frame with strong performances behind Albertine van der Goot, who recorded five kills and 10 digs from Michelle Thao. Asheville had a .138 attack percentage compared to CSU's -.036.
The Bulldogs looked to send the match into a deciding set as the Bulldogs trailed by two late in the fourth frame, but back-to-back kills from the Buccaneers put CSU ahead by four, and Asheville was unable to make up the distance.
Kylie Cackovic led Asheville offensively with 14 kills, three block assists, and a team-high 16.5 points, while Albertine van der Goot added 12 kills on a .292 hitting percentage. Payton Rolfsen dished out 26 assists and contributed six digs, and Selina Koc added a double-digit setting performance of her own with 10 assists and nine digs.
Defensively, Michelle Thao anchored the back row with a match-best 34 digs, and Kimberly Williams paced the front line with four total blocks (two solo). Asheville finished the evening with 43 kills, eight aces, and 78 digs, beating CSU in the final two categories. Charleston Southern had one more kill than Asheville and a .128 attack percentage compared to Asheville's .075. The Buccaneers recorded 16 total team blocks compared to Asheville's eight.
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville continues Big South play on Saturday, hosting Presbyterian at 2 p.m. inside the Justice Center. Prior to the game, Asheville will be honoring its 10 seniors.
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