ASHEVILLE, NC – Freshman Nikki Drost tallied a career-high 21 kills Saturday but the Winthrop volleyball team dropped a five-set match at UNC Asheville.

Drost's 21 kills led all hitters Saturday and were part of a double-double as she tallied 10 digs and a .319 attack percentage.  Alina Sopizhuk and Brianna Gray totaled 16 and 14 kills respectively.  Jessie Vicic recorded a season-high 60 assists while Maria Volstad led the Eagles with 19 digs.

Winthrop (18-11, 8-5) went down 6-2 early in the opening set but responded with a 6-1 run to take an 8-7 advantage.  The two sides then traded the next 11 points and were tied again at 13-13.  The Eagles then went on a quick 5-1 run to grab a 18-14 lead and limited Asheville (7-21, 3-9) to only five more points, taking the first set 25-19.

The Eagles had another slow start to the second set, falling behind 5-1.  Winthrop rallied on a 7-3 run to tie the set at 8-8.  Following another tie at 12-12, UNC Asheville jumped back out to a 16-13 lead.  The Eagles were able to rally twice more but couldn't overtake the Bulldogs as Asheville took the second set 25-23.

In the third set the two sides were even through the first 20 points before the Eagles went on a 7-2 run, opening a 17-12 advantage.  Asheville battled back on an 8-2 run to take a 20-19 edge.  The Bulldogs reached set point at 24-23 but the Eagles were able to fight off one before Asheville took the final two points, winning 26-24.

Winthrop used a 7-1 run midway through the fourth set to open a 15-9 advantage.  The Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the Eagle lead and got within two at 22-20, forcing Winthrop to take a timeout.  Out of the break, the Eagles took three of the last four points, taking the fourth set 25-21.

The Eagles took the first two points of the decisive fifth set, but Asheville followed that with a 6-1 run, taking a 6-3 edge.  Trailing by three at 11-8, the Eagles took five of the next six points to grab a 13-12 lead, forcing Asheville to take a timeout.  The break worked for the Bulldogs as they picked up back-to-back blocks and a kill to take the third set 15-13.

Winthrop totaled 71 kills as a team, a season-high and a .212 hitting percentage.  The Eagles finished with 66 assists, four service aces, 73 digs and 12 team blocks.

The Eagles will close out the regular season on the road next Friday in a 7 p.m. contest against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose.