ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Campbell University volleyball came back from a 2-1 deficit by winning set four, 25-17, and set five, 15-13, to defeat UNC Asheville in five sets, 3-2, on Friday night inside the Justice Center.
UNC Asheville won the first and third sets, 25-23 and 25-20, respectively, with Campbell taking the second set, 25-23. The Bulldogs went ahead by as many as six in the fourth set, but Campbell closed the set on a 19-5 run to force the match-deciding fifth set.
Much like the previous set, UNC Asheville jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set five; however, the Fighting Camels again stormed back to reach match point at 14-11. The Bulldogs responded with a pair of kills, but an Asheville attack error earned Campbell the fifth-set victory, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.
The win improved Campbell to 14-12 overall and 8-5 in Big South Conference play, moving the Camels into sole possession of third place in the league standings. Meanwhile, UNC Asheville fell to 12-12 and 6-7 against conference foes.
Four Fighting Camels finished with double-digit kills on the night with both Sarah Colla and Lailah Green recording 16 kills, and Allena Heath and Melody Paige putting down 11 kills each. As a team, the Camels combined for 67 kills, their second-most kill total in a single match this season.
The Campbell defense recorded a season-high 97 digs, led by 18 digs from Elyse Gross and 17 digs by Madee Miner. Gross paired her dig total with 10 assists for her first double-double this year while Miner added 20 assists for her team-high eighth double-double. Emily Mitter also logged a double-double, her seventh, with 23 assists and 11 digs.
Green earned her first double-double as a Fighting Camel with 13 digs while Heath logged her third double-double, adding 14 digs.
For the sixth time this season, Campbell combined for 10 or more team blocks, led by six blocks from Ananda Patterson. Paige finished with five blocks, including two solo.
UNC Asheville was led by Kailey Hackett's match-high 42 assists, while Julia Borges added a team-high 16 kills with just four errors for a .235 hitting percentage.
Campbell's regular-season slate ends on Saturday when the Fighting Camels travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for a 2 p.m. contest against USC Upstate.
After the conclusion of the regular season, the top six teams in the final standings will meet in Rock Hill, S.C., for the 2019 Big South Volleyball Championship hosted at the Winthrop Coliseum on the campus of Winthrop University. The single-elimination tournament is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Nov 22-24. The top two seeds will receive byes into the semifinals.
All quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be carried on ESPN+, while the championship contest will be available on ESPN3. The winner of the tournament will receive the Big South Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
