University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
10-2,0-0Big South
Western Carolina
4-7,0-0SoCon
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Caro. | 21 | 25 | 31 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
| UNC Asheville | 25 | 16 | 33 | 19 | 15 | 3 |
Bulldogs Outlast Western Carolina in Five, Match Best 12-Match Start in Recorded Program History
09.15.2026 | Women's Volleyball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville volleyball continued its historic start to the 2026 season Tuesday night, battling past Western Carolina in a five-set thriller, 25-21, 16-25, 33-31, 19-25, 15-11, inside the Justice Center.
With the victory, Asheville improves to 10-2 on the season, matching the 1995 Bulldogs for the best 12-match start in the program's recorded history. The 1995 squad also opened its season 10-2 before eventually finishing 24-11.
The Bulldogs finished the night with 61 kills and 11 service aces while three Asheville attackers reached double figures.
Sarah Wadsworth led the attack with 19 kills, matching her career high, while adding four service aces. Addie Brookbank followed with 15 kills and 10 digs for a double-double, while Cadence Nichols turned in a career performance with 11 kills, hitting .348 with just three errors on 23 attempts. Lydia Pate added nine kills on a team-best .438 hitting percentage and chipped in three total blocks and two aces.
Asheville also received career performances from Olivia Callipo and Olivia Philpot. Callipo dished out a career-high 32 assists and collected a career-best 10 digs to record a double-double, while Philpot anchored the Bulldog defense with a career-high 16 digs. Elise Jensen added 20 assists and eight digs.
The Bulldogs came out firing in the opening set, hitting .342 with 16 kills against just three errors to take a 25-21 victory. A kill from Nichols put Asheville ahead 4-3 early, and the Bulldogs never trailed again in the frame. Western Carolina made a late push, cutting Asheville's lead to two at 23-21, but back-to-back kills from Wadsworth closed out the set for the Bulldogs.
Western Carolina responded in the second, limiting Asheville to seven kills and a -.034 hitting percentage to even the match with a 25-16 victory.
The third set came down to the wire as it featured 17 ties and nine lead changes. Asheville appeared poised to close out the frame after a block from Pate and Brookbank gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 advantage, but the Catamounts battled back to tie the score at 24. The teams continued to trade points through a 31-31 tie before a kill from Pate and a Western Carolina attack error secured a 33-31 victory for Asheville and gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Western Carolina answered once again in the fourth, 25-19, to force a deciding fifth set.
Asheville closed the door in the fifth, putting down eight kills and hitting .238 en route to a 15-11 victory. Western Carolina jumped out to a 4-1 lead before the Bulldogs began chipping away, eventually taking their first lead of the set at 6-5 following a service ace from Catherine Hubiak. The Catamounts evened the score at six, but a kill from Brookbank put Asheville back in front, 7-6, and the Bulldogs never trailed again.
Western Carolina continued to battle, cutting Asheville's advantage to one at 11-10. Out of a timeout, Wadsworth connected for a kill to swing the momentum back in the Bulldogs' favor, and Asheville carried it to the finish line to secure the match victory.
Wadsworth finished the night with a team-high 23.5 points, while Brookbank contributed 16.5 and Pate added 13. Asheville held an 11-7 advantage in service aces, continuing the Bulldogs' dominant early-season performance from the service line.
Asheville returns to action Sept. 18-19 at the Ohio University Tournament. The Bulldogs open tournament play Friday against Mercyhurst at 1 p.m. before taking on host Ohio later that evening at 7 p.m. Asheville will wrap up the weekend Saturday against Morgan State at 11 a.m.
