Highlanders Drop Five-Set Match at UNCA

Asheville, N.C. - Radford's upset bid of UNC Asheville at the Justice Center fell short Tuesday night as they lost in five sets, 30-27, 21-30, 25-30, 31-29 and 12-15. The Highlanders were led by Tiffany Guthrie's 17 kills, while Divona Cox added 14 kills and eight blocks.

The victory was UNC Asheville's seventh straight and improved its record to 12-6 and 6-2 in the league. The Highlanders fell to 2-21 overall and 1-6 in BSC play.

Also for RU, Kate McHugh finished with 12 kills. Elizabeth Aldredge sparked the RU defense with 16 digs.

For the Bulldogs, Frida Sigurdardottir had 24 kills, while Kelly Budnik added 15 kills and 20 digs. Elif Unlu added 15 kills and 11 digs. Talia Ogle chipped in a season-high 17 digs.

Radford jumped on the Bulldogs in the first game and led from start to finish and won, 30-27 as a late UNCA comeback fell short.

Sigurdardottir had seven kills in the second game and six in the third game to lead the Bulldogs to wins, 30-21 and 30-25 victories.

The Highlanders refused to go away quietly in the fourth game as they jumped out to a 25-15 lead. The Bulldogs made a frantic comeback, led by Budnik, and knotted the match up at 29-29 on a kill from Unlu. But a kill from McHugh and a block solo by Cox sent the match into a fifth game.

UNCA got three kills from Budnik plus three serving errors by Radford to allow the Bulldogs to take the lead in the fifth game. UNCA built a 13-8 lead only to see the Highlanders creep to within 14-12. Unlu won the match when her kill attempt snuck over the net for the 15th point and the win for Asheville.

The Highlanders will hit the road this weekend. On Saturday, they will face Winthrop and on Sunday, High Point. Both matches begin at 2 p.m.