Asheville, N.C. – Winthrop volleyball remains perfect in the Big South with a road sweep of UNC Asheville (25-16, 25-15, 26-24). The win brings the Eagles to 11-3, 3-0, and pushes their current win streak to eight straight matches. The loss drops UNCA to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in Big South play.
How it Happened
In set one, the top two teams in the Big South went point for point until the Eagles took a 14-11 lead after a four-point run.
Siani Yamaguchi threw down a kill out of the UNCA timeout to push the run to five. Winthrop pushed their lead to 16-11; UNCA brought the score back within three, 16-13, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get. The Eagles went on to win the first set 25-16,
Camila Gomez and Yamaguchi led the way with four kills.
Emily Wunder kicked off the second set with a stuff block on Julia Borges. From there, the two teams once again found themselves in a stalemate with Winthrop just managing a one-point edge over the home team. A kill from Kia Benitez gave the Eagles the spark they needed to extend their lead, 18-12. Another kill from Benitez would bookend the Eagle run and give them a 2 set lead.
In the final set, The Bulldogs saw some offensive flashes but could not put together a total set despite a late 6-0 run. The Eagles looked ready to take an easy third set win but tough serving from UNCA gave the Winthrop serve receivers some fits, pulling them within one point, 23-22. Back to back UNCA kills brought the Bulldogs to their first set point of the night, 24-23. Kills from
Makayla Doyle and
Morgan Bossler flipped the score and gave the Eagles their first match point. The Eagles narrowly avoided a fourth set after a UNCA attack error ended the match.
Inside the Box Score
Bossler, the reigning Big South Player of the Week, finished with a match high 12 kills and a hitting efficiency of .579. Gomez and Wunder finished with nine kills each; Wunder also added three blocks to the stat sheet. Benitez and Yamaguchi finished with team high 12 kills.
The Bulldogs were led by Ansley Rooks and Julia Borges, who each had nine kills.
Up Next
The Eagles head to Spartanburg, S.C. tomorrow for a 2:00 p.m. match against the USC Upstate Spartans (3-9, 0-1).
