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The UNC Asheville Bulldogs 3-1 victory in a packed Justice Center over the N.C. Central Eagles on Sept. 16 inspired confidence for the future.
“I think every match we go into gives us that confidence, especially a win, to go into the next match and use the things that we did well,” said UNCA Volleyball Head Coach Danielle Marante.
The Bulldogs got off to a 15-13 start in the first set, before the first media timeout. Then, the Bulldogs expanded their lead to 17-14 which forced the Eagles to call their first timeout. The Bulldogs continued to put pressure on the Eagles which forced them to call their second timeout with the Bulldogs up 21-17.
The Bulldogs finished the first set strong with a 25-21 win over the Eagles. This gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead after the first set. Three Bulldogs were tied for the team lead in kills with 4 kills after the first set. The Bulldogs had a hitting percentage of .367 in the first set.
“I think we came out with good energy. Our offense was looking good,” Marante said. “I think when we play like that and we’re excited about the plays that we’re making and can keep that lead, keep pushing the other team, we’ll have a lot of success.”
The Bulldogs started the second set with a 11-10 lead before the Eagles called their first time. The Eagles responded by taking a 18-16 lead before the Bulldogs used their first timeout. The Eagles expanded their lead to 22-18 which forced the Bulldogs to use their second timeout.
The Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to 22-21 which led to the Eagles using their second timeout. The Eagles secured the second set with a 25-21 win over the Bulldogs. This tied the game at 1-1 after the second set. The Bulldogs only had a hitting percentage of .171 in the second set.
“In the second set there was just a little bit of a drop. I think some of the communication maybe,” Marante said.
The Eagles started the third set with a strong 4-0 lead. The Bulldogs roared back by taking a 10-8 lead before the Eagles used their first timeout. The Bulldogs expanded their lead to 15-11 before the Eagles used their second timeout.
The Bulldogs secured the win in the third set by a score of 25-18. This gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead after the third set. The Bulldogs had a total of 18 kills in the third set.
“That always helps if we can pass the ball to our setter and be able to run our offense,” Marante said.
The Bulldogs started the fourth set with a 11-10 lead before the Eagles used their first timeout. The Eagles responded by tying it at 14-14 before the Bulldogs called their first timeout. The Bulldogs took a 17-14 lead before the Eagles used their second timeout. The Bulldogs won the fourth set 25-21 over the Eagles. The Bulldogs secured the 3-1 victory over the Eagles.
Baylor Herlehy, a middle blocker for UNCA, was tied for the Bulldogs high in kills with 13 kills throughout the evening. Herlehy also only made two errors on the night, finishing the contest with a hitting percentage of .500.
“I really did feel like I was in the zone,” said Herlehy. “I felt like I saw the court really well, and I was able to put the ball away.”
The fans made their presence felt during Tuesday’s contest. The vibrant audience of 207 spectators were noticed by both players and coaches.
“It’s nice seeing the school come out and support, the other athletes coming out and support, other coaches in the stands, just administration, fans, everybody,” Marante said. “We just love playing at home in front of our home crowd.”
The UNCA Bulldogs improved to 3-8 on the season. While the N.C. Central Eagles fell to 2-7 on the season. The UNCA Bulldogs return to the Justice Center on Sept. 26 to face the USC-Upstate Spartans in the Ingles I-26 Rivalry Series.
