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ASHEVILLE, NC – The Winthrop volleyball team got its fourth conference victory of the season, defeating UNC Asheville in four sets (25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20) Saturday afternoon at Justice Center.
The victory brings the Eagles to 11-6 on the season and 4-1 in the Big South, as Asheville drops to 10-8 on the year and 3-2 in the conference.
Winthrop was paced tonight by the offensive play of senior middle hitter
Becca Toor as she finished with 17 kills and a .371 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter
Carolyn Weed added 13 kills as the Eagles finished with 52 kills on the night. Defensively, the Eagles were well-rounded as four defenders had double-digit digs. After tying the school record in digs for a four-set match the previous night, freshman libero
Catherine Brusie ended the night with 16 digs, as junior defensive specialist
Kristin Cruse and sophomore setter
Stephanie Palmer each totaled 12. Freshman outside hitter
Lauren Landsman closed out the match with 10. Palmer also dished out 40 assists as she was just two kills shy of her third triple-double.
“This was a good win to put behind us,” head coach Julie Torbett said. “Becca and Weed did a great job offensively and Brusie did a good job defensively.”
The opening set started even as the teams traded points to the 14-14 mark. From that point, the Eagles went on a 6-0 to take a convincing lead, forcing Asheville to try and regroup. The Winthrop offense was too much for the Asheville defense as the Eagles cruised to capture the set, 25-18. The Eagles finished with 14 kills in the set, as Weed led with four.
The second set was back-and-forth throughout the set, seeing a deadlock at the 24-24 mark. Asheville closed out the match scoring on Palmer error, winning 26-24. Asheville tallied 20 kills and a.326 hitting percentage in the second set.
Winthrop jumped out to the early advantage in the third set, going up 10-6. The Eagles continued their constant lead throughout the set and polished off the set, 25-18. Toor lead the way offensively as she totaled seven of the team's 12 kills in the set. Winthrop tallied 15 digs in the set, Brusie had six.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead in the fourth set, as they took their biggest lead at the 13-6 mark. Asheville started a late charge, but Winthrop continued to find seems and force the Bulldogs into six errors to win the set and the match, 25-20.
Winthrop will be back on the court on Friday, Oct. 8 when the Eagles travel to Buies Creek, NC to take on Big South Conference newcomer, Campbell. That match is set for 7 p.m.
