HIGH POINT, N.C. – UNC Asheville delivered its sharpest offensive performances in the last 10 years, on its way to sweeping USC Upstate 3–0 (25–19, 25–15, 25–22) on Friday afternoon to advance to the Semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament.
Asheville (11–17, 7–7 Big South) hit a season-best .415 with 51 kills and just seven errors. With its .415 attack percentage in today's sweep, Asheville recorded its most efficient offensive match since 2015, when the Bulldogs hit .466 in a sweep against Radford. The Bulldogs attack percentage is the second highest in the Big South this season.
BOX SCORE
Ana Djurovic powered the attack with 13 kills, while Albertine van der Goot added 12 kills, both finishing with a .500 hitting percentage. Avery Loeback and Kylie Cackovic both chipped in eight kills, and Kimberly Williams hit .750 with seven kills and two blocks.
Setters Payton Rolfsen and Selina Koc directed the offense with 22 and 15 assists, respectively, and also adding seven digs apiece. Michelle Thao anchored the back row with 12 digs and added a service ace. The final Bulldog in the stat sheet was Baylor Herlehy who recorded three kills, three blocks and a service ace.
Set 1 – Asheville 25, USC Upstate 19
After a back-and-forth beginning to the first set, a kill from Avery Loeback tied the score at nine and sparked a 5-0 run by the Bulldogs to put Asheville ahead 13-9. Asheville's run consisted of consecutive points from Djurovic (Herlehy assisting with the first), a Rolfsen ace, and a van der Goot kill. Asheville held control for the remainder of the set with a kill from Herlehy helping the Bulldogs to a 1-0 match lead.
Set 2 – Asheville 25, USC Upstate 15
Upstate scored the first point of the second frame but Asheville responded with the next three points to go ahead 3-1. Herlehy got Asheville's first point with a kill followed by an ace from Djurovic and a kill from van der Goot. The Spartans tied the score at four but Asheville never allowed Upstate to regain the lead, as Asheville extended its lead following a 5-0 run that put the Bulldogs ahead 16-9. The Bulldogs' run consisted of a kill from Djurovic, two kills from Williams, an ace from Herlehy and a kill from van der Goot. The Bulldogs finished the set on a 6-0 run which consisted of a kill from Djurovic, three kills by van der Goot, and an ace from Rolfsen.
Set 3 – Asheville 25, USC Upstate 22
The third, and final, set was the closest of the three as the Spartans looked to avoid the sweep. Upstate jumped ahead 2–0, but Asheville quickly settled in behind a string of kills from Cackovic, Djurovic and Williams to take a 6-5 lead. Upstate did not hold the lead for the remainder of the frame but the Spartans did not allow Asheville to lead by more than three until an Upstate attack error and a kill from Loeback gave Asheville its largest lead of the night (23-18). Upstate trimmed the deficit to 23–22, but a service error from the Spartans and a Loeback kill delivered the final two points, sealing the sweep for Asheville.
UP NEXT
For the first time since 2018, the Bulldogs have advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament. No. 4 Asheville will face No. 1 Winthrop tomorrow (Nov. 22) at 3 p.m. in the Millis Athletic Center on the campus of High Point.