ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Freshman-laden women's volleyball team suffered from the first game jitters, falling in three sets to the host UNC Asheville Bulldogs Friday night. The match was the season opener for both squads as UNC Asheville sent the Justice Center crowd home happy while the Eagles look to right the ship on Saturday.
The Basics
- Final Score: Coppin State 0, UNC Asheville 3
- Records: Coppin State 0-1 (0-0 MEAC), UNC Asheville 1-0 (0-0 Big South)
- Location: Asheville, NC – Justice Center
- Series History: UNC Asheville leads 2-0
How It Happened
First Set
- Coppin got off to an inauspicious start, sailing the opening serve out of bounds. This became a theme early on as the Eagles airmailed three early attacks.
- Asheville jumped out to a 5-2 lead before the Eagles had to burn a timeout.
- CSU would storm back to acquire its first lead of the season 13-12, causing a Bulldog timeout.
- UNC Asheville answered the call ripping off a flurry of kills to gain a 17-14 edge before another Lady Eagles timeout.
- The Bulldogs would not relinquish that momentum as they rolled to a 25-18 first set decision.
Second Set
- Asheville got out to a 16-11 lead before CSU pulled back to within one, causing a Bulldogs timeout.
- The two squads battled back and forth to a 20-17 Bulldogs lead before CSU called timeout.
- Coppin State runs out of gas as UNC Asheville pulls away for a 25-19 victory in the second set.
Third Set
- The experienced Bulldogs buried the young Eagles by jumping out to a 21-10 lead before sealing the deal for a 25-16 set win and 3-0 sweep.
Inside the Numbers
- Asia Stennis led the Eagles with seven kills while Lauryn Harrell paced Coppin with a .154 hitting percentage.
- Asheville's powerful attack was spearheaded by preseason All-Big South player Cara Guthrie, who logged 13 kills and a whooping .370 hitting percentage.
- The Bulldogs took command in the second set as they smashed a .393 hitting percentage as a team, compared to .154 for the Eagles.
Who's Next?
The Lady Eagles will look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon as it faces Appalachian State in game two of the UNC Asheville Invitational. First serve will take place at 12:30
