University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
12-3,0-0Big South
Morgan State
1-11,0-0MEAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC Asheville | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Morgan St. | 26 | 19 | 17 | 21 | 1 |
Volleyball Closes Bobcat Invitational with Four Set Victory over Morgan State
09.19.2026 | Women's Volleyball
ATHENS, Ohio – The UNC Asheville volleyball team closed out its time at the Bobcat Invitational with a four-set victory over Morgan State (24-26, 25-19, 25-17, 25-21), finishing the weekend 2-1 and improving to 12-3 on the season.
After dropping the opening frame following a late push from the Bears, Asheville responded in the second set to even the match at 1-1. The frame featured 10 ties and four lead changes before a kill from Albertine van der Goot broke a 12-12 tie and put the Bulldogs ahead for good. The second set proved to be Asheville's strongest offensive frame of the match, as the Bulldogs recorded 15 kills and five errors on 32 attempts for a .312 hitting percentage.
Asheville carried that momentum into the third set, taking the lead following a Morgan State service error and never trailing the rest of the way. The Bulldogs controlled the frame from start to finish, earning a 25-17 victory to move ahead 2-1 in the match.
The Bulldogs maintained control in the fourth. After an early 1-1 tie, Asheville jumped ahead 5-2 and never allowed Morgan State to take the lead. The Bulldogs quickly doubled their advantage at 14-7, and despite a late push from the Bears, Asheville remained composed down the stretch. A kill from Leah Okogbenin helped halt Morgan State's momentum before Sarah Wadsworth followed with a kill of her own. Back-to-back kills from Lydia Pate then helped seal the 25-21 set victory and the match.
Wadsworth concluded the weekend with 15 kills, two aces, five digs, one solo block and one block assist. Pate followed with 11 kills while hitting .500 and added two aces, one solo block and five block assists. Van der Goot also recorded 11 kills, hitting .233 with one solo block and three block assists.
Olivia Callipo and Elise Jensen split setting duties, with Callipo recording 22 assists and six digs and Jensen finished with 20 assists and eight digs. Jensen and Madi Connelly led Asheville from the service line with three aces apiece, while Connelly also contributed eight kills and six digs.
Catherine Hubiak led Asheville defensively, matching her career-high of 17 digs.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished with 50 kills, 12 aces, 11 total blocks and 49 digs.
The Bobcat Invitational marked Asheville's final nonconference tournament of the season. Before opening Big South Conference play on Friday, Sept. 25 at USC Upstate at 6 p.m., the Bulldogs return home to host Queens on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. inside the Justice Center on the campus of UNC Asheville.
