CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College volleyball team used a strong-hitting opening set to propel the Blue Hose past UNC Asheville 3-1 (25-13, 26-24, 17-25, 25-21) inside the Templeton Center on Friday night. Sophomore outside hitter Rylee Moorhead led the attack with 10 kills, seven digs and three service aces in the victory.
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian 3, UNC Asheville 1
LOCATION: Templeton Center (Clinton, S.C.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (5-12, 1-4) | UNC Asheville (3-12, 0-5)
Coach Burgess' Thoughts
"It was a solid team effort tonight as its nice to get our first conference win at home. We had to make some substitutions tonight but had some really good performances throughout the match. I am proud of the team for staying the course tonight even when the third set got away from us and we were able to rally and finish in the fourth."
How it Happened
- The Blue Hose and Bulldogs tied six times in the early going of set one before a 7-3 burst from PC allowed the hosts to pull in front 13-9 and force Asheville into an early timeout. The Blue Hose kept the pressure up with an 8-1 run to jump in front 21-10 in the opening set. PC and Asheville traded points over the next few before the Blue Hose earned a 25-13 set one win. PC hit .444 with 14 kills in the opening set.
- Asheville jumped out to the early 5-3 lead in the second and were able to push it to 11-5 before the Blue Hose responded in a big way. PC scored the next five points as part of a 16-5 run that pushed the hosts out in front 21-16 as UNC Asheville spent one of its timeouts. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to one, 22-21 following the and evened it at 24 before a pair of Blue Hose kills gave PC the 26-24 advantage.
- In set three, UNC Asheville started quick again with a quick 5-2 advantage before PC answered on a 7-4 run to even the set at nine apiece. The guests used a 9-4 run to jump out to a 18-12 advantage which forced PC to use both of its timeouts during the run. The guests were able to keep the lead down the stretch and earned a 25-17 set three victory.
- Asheville opened with a 4-2 burst out of the gates in set four before the Blue Hose responded with a 7-2 run to take a 9-6 advantage and force the Bulldogs to take a timeout. UNC Asheville quickly evened the score at 10 before the Blue Hose rattled off the next six points to take a 16-10 lead in the fourth set. Asheville whittled the lead to two on multiple occasions down the stretch with the last happening at 21-19. PC closed scoring four of the final six points to take the match on Friday in four sets.
Notables
- Moorhead led the Blue Hose on Friday with her seventh match of the season tallying 10+ kills as the sophomore had 10 kills in the victory. She also added seven digs and three aces in the contest.
- Freshman Elyse Hutchinson totaled nine kills on 19 swings while hitting .368 in the match. Hutchinson also led the Blue Hose block with seven marking a new career-high for her.
- Hailey Grocholski and Kasey Battle each recorded eight kills with Grocholski adding three aces and a pair of blocks. Battle added three digs and four blocks.
- Kinsey Bailey added her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 25 assists to go along with 10 digs. Bailey also recorded four kills on eight swings.
- Freshman Anna Baranski picked up her sixth double-double of the season with 16 assists and 10 digs.
- Freshman Asani McGee appeared in his first game of her Blue Hose career as she added a kill and a block in a pair of sets.
- PC totaled 11 service aces on Friday night to improve to 5-0 on the year when recording 10+ service aces in a match.
Up Next
- Presbyterian returns to the court on Saturday night with first serve at 6 p.m. against Gardner-Webb from the Templeton Center.
