No. 4 Presbyterian College Blanks No. 5 UNC Asheville, Advances to Semifinals
The fourth-seeded Presbyterian College volleyball team swept fifth-seeded UNC Asheville (25-23, 25-12, 25-19) in the first quarterfinal of the Big South Conference Volleyball Championship at Winthrop Coliseum on Friday evening. The Blue Hose improve to 15-14 and advance to Saturday’s semifinal round, where they will play top-seeded Winthrop. UNC Asheville’s season comes to an end with a 13-13 mark.
- The win is PC’s first in the Big South Conference Championship since 2012, which is also the last time the Blue Hose reached the tournament’s semifinals.
- Trinity Williams hammered down a match-high 16 kills on a .387 hitting percentage to pace the PC attack. The sophomore added 10 digs for her 12th double-double of the season.
- Lauren Talbert tallied nine kills on a .300 hitting percentage and chipped in 14 digs and three service aces.
- Erin Cooke also registered nine kills, 14 assists, six digs and three aces.
- Sierra Jones dished out a match-high 25 assists.
- Erin Eulitz dug up a match-high 15 balls.
- Allie Wright notched seven kills as well as a match-best six blocks.
- The Blue Hose posted a .288 hitting percentage for the contest while holding the Bulldogs to an .097 mark.
- After the Bulldogs took the first point of the contest, PC took the next four for an early 4-1 edge. The Blue Hose stretched the lead to 13-6, but a trio of 3-0 spurts brought UNC Asheville back even at 17-17. PC climbed ahead again at 24-21, and after the Bulldogs fended off a pair of set points, Williams gave the Blue Hose a 1-0 lead in the match with her sixth kill of the set.
- Presbyterian jumped out to an 8-3 advantage in the second set, thanks in part to a trio of aces. The Blue Hose extended the margin to 16-6 with a 5-0 run and cruised from there to a 2-0 lead in the contest.
- The Blue Hose again started the third set by grabbing a 4-1 edge. PC upped the margin to 11-6, but the Bulldogs battled back to tie it up at 17-17. With the score knotted at 18-18, the Blue Hose used a 7-1 surge to seal the contest.
The Blue Hose advance to Saturday’s semifinal round where they are set to take on top-seeded Winthrop. First serve is slated for 4:30 pm.