Big Green Win UNC Asheville Invitational

Saturday, September 7

Asheville, N.C.

10:30 AM

Dartmouth College

1-1

Eastern Kentucky

2-3

Dartmouth

Eastern Ky.

Sophomore Bella Hedley

Photo by: Doug Austin

9/7/2019 8:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 EKU Box Score UNC Asheville Box Score

Dartmouth fell in three set to EKU before turning around to defeat the host by the same score

By: Charlotte Brackett

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Dartmouth volleyball team won the UNC Asheville Invitational following a 3-0 loss to Eastern Kentucky (22-25, 24-26, 22-25) and a win by the same score against the host (25-22, 25-19, 25-7) on Saturday.

At the conclusion of the weekend, sophomore Bella Hedley was named MVP and junior Elise Petit was selected to the all-tournament team.

"I thought we learned a lot about ourselves this weekend," head coach Gilad Doron said. "We grew as a unit to trust and make changes and, as a coach, that's what you hope for as the season continues. We had a tough loss in the morning game against Eastern Kentucky and we came out against UNC Asheville with a different mindset and our game plan was played to a T tonight.

"My hope is that our team will continue to learn and work hard this week to get better," Doron continued. "I am very proud of our response each UNC Asheville run in the first two sets and the third game was almost flawless. I am excited to see how our team grows from here."

Eastern Kentucky
Petit led with 10 kills, five digs, four block assists and 12 points. Sophomore Nicole Liddle recorded 13 digs and six kills, while freshman Makenzie Arent had 24 assists and five digs.

All but one of the first 10 points of the opening set were due to errors, tying the match at five-all. The teams traded points back and forth and EKU stayed slightly ahead until a Colonel error and an ace by Hedley tied things up (21-21). A kill on either side of the net kept the score tied, but a three-point rally handed the first set to the opponent (25-22).

EKU had a 6-2 advantage at the start of the second, but seven straight points off kills by junior Tola Akinwumi (2), Petit (2) and freshman Grace Wiczek put Dartmouth ahead (9-6). The Colonels tied the score before an 8-2 run gave the Green some breathing room (17-11). EKU fought back and, after winning nine of the next 13 points, was only down by one (21-20). Dartmouth scored twice in a row, only to have the opponent get the next four points to steal the lead (24-23). Wiczek added one more kill to keep the Big Green in the game, but the Colonels got the last two points to end it (26-24).

Dartmouth started the third well and had a 6-3 edge following three EKU errors and kills by Liddle and Petit (2). The Colonels caught up and even briefly took the lead, but a host of errors put the Green comfortably back ahead (18-11). EKU turned up the pressure and six points in a row got it within one (18-17). Kills by Petit and Wiczek allowed Dartmouth to keep its advantage until four straight for the Colonels put them on top (23-21). The Green got one point closer before a pair of EKU kills wrapped up the match (25-22).

UNC Asheville
Petit had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Arent had a weekend-best 35 assists paired with eight digs, three block assists and four kills. Hedley had a good match, registering a career-high 21 digs and two assists.

The start of Dartmouth's final match was incredibly close and there were seven ties by the time the score was 14-14. A 6-1 Big Green run following kills by Arent (2) and Liddle, and three Bulldog errors gave Dartmouth its first real lead (20-15). Another Liddle kill got the Green to set point (24-18) and, while four in a row for UNC Asheville made it a two-point game, Petit's kill gave the win to Dartmouth (25-22).

The Bulldogs had a 4-0 run at the beginning of the second, which was followed by four straight points on the other side of the net. Any time one team started to pull away, the other would tie the score. Tied at 16-16 and having traded every single point since the score was 9-9, kills by Arent, Wiczek, Liddle and sophomore Emma Moffet gave the Big Green a good lead (21-17). Dartmouth did not allow the opponent to get much closer and soon had a 2-0 advantage (25-19).

The Green had a 6-0 run to start the third set thanks to an Arent ace and kills by Petit, Wiczek (2), Moffet and Liddle. After the Bulldogs got on the board with two kills of their own, another Dartmouth rally, this time one that saw Dartmouth win 15 of the next 18 points, made it a 22-5 set. UNC Asheville got two points closer, but never got to double digits, as kills by Moffet and Liddle ended the match (25-7).

This is the first time in at least 12 years that Dartmouth has had such a large margin of victory. The last time the Green did not allow the opponent to make it to double digit points was during a 25-9 third set against Providence on Sept. 15, 2009.

Next weekend, the Big Green will host the annual Dartmouth Invitational, welcoming Fordham, Hartford and Hofstra to Leede Arena for the two-day tournament.