ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Presbyterian College volleyball team lost a hard-fought match at UNC Asheville Tuesday evening 3-1 (13-25, 27-29, 25-15, 17-25).

The Blue Hose fall to 9-16 on the year and 4-6 in the Big South Conference. The Bulldogs improve to 20-7 overall and 9-1 against conference competition.

Leading the way with her third consecutive double-double for head coach Chris Belshe's team was junior Lisa Shelley. She notched 14 kills and 10 digs - both of which were best on the squad. Rookie Presley Mabrey 13 kills to go along with four digs. Junior Amanda Kettles tallied nine kills and five blocks (three solo) while freshman Allison Brown delivered eight kills and two solo blocks.

Junior Kilee Ruppe dished out a match-high 46 assists to compliment her five digs. Alesia Paul sliced through the defense for two aces while Shelley and Kettles each had one.

The Blue Hose struggled, opening the match with a .067 attack percentage. PC rebounded with a strong effort the next two sets, falling in set two and winning set three. Belshe's team hit an outstanding .424 in set two, dropping a 29-27 fight. However, the team would continue to stay hot, tallying a mark of .417 in the third set while picking up the win 25-15.

In the opening set, PC fell behind 5-0 before Kettles rattled home a pass from Elizabeth Heineman for the team's first point. The Blue Hose pulled within four, but could get no closer as the home team went on a 7-2 run to widen the gap to eight.

Belshe's team struggled to get things going in the second set, finding itself in a 4-0 hole. However, Kettles and Lindsey Harris stuffed Cindi Miller, cutting the margin to three. For much of the set, it seemed as though PC could get close, but could not pull even. That all changed when the Bulldogs held a 16-14 lead. Brown slammed home a kill and Shelley followed it with an ace. From that point forward, neither team could gain more than a two-point edge.

The Blue Hose took their first lead when Harris, who had a season-high seven kills, posted one for a 19-18 lead. Mabrey's block widened the margin to two. However, UNCA ran off three straight points and from then on, the teams battled neck and neck.

Shelley's kill gave PC a 24-23 lead - only to see the home team score back-to-back points. Down 27-26, Mabrey notched a kill to pull even for the last time in the set. The Bulldogs won the set 29-27.

Despite losing the second set, the Blue Hose played inspirational ball coming out of the intermission. Harris' kill gave the team a 1-0 edge. Then, with Paul back to serve, the Blue Hose reeled off six more points, giving the team a 7-0 advantage. PC would increase the lead to eight and would never seriously be challenged the rest of the set. UNCA pulled within five, but Mabrey answered the bell with a kill, putting the Blue Hose back on track for the 25-15 win.

Mabrey put the Blue Hose on the board in the fourth set, opening play with a kill. The teams traded the next several points with neither team leading by more than three. Shelley gave the Blue hose a 13-12 lead, but the home squad went on a 6-0 run to hold on 18-13 lead. The deficit grew for PC, who could never recover the momentum it had in the third set, falling 25-17.

The Blue Hose travel to High Point Friday evening for a 7 p.m., contest.