Athens, Ga. Charlotte volleyball fell to Texas Tech 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 16-25, 18-25) in the Bulldog Classic before defeating College of Charleston 3-2 (25-21, 25-21). , 22-25, 20-25, 15-13) Saturday night.
“It was a great weekend for us,” the head coach began. Karen Weatherington. “We really locked in and competed together. I was impressed with how we handled the pressure and improved our first contact with some great teams. It’s been a long day today and to finish strong in five games shows our resilience.”
Game 1: Texas Tech 3, Charlotte 1
Charlotte (5-2) got off to a fast start in the opening set en route to a 25-20 lead. Imani Foster with three kills for an 11-7 start. Two murders from Alex Washington and one from Amani McArthur He maintained his lead at 15-10 before two more runs by Foster and AC Annika Wetterstrom Texas Tech (5-0) forced a timeout 21-17. Foster and McArthur took it the rest of the way, putting down the final four kills for the five-point set win.
The Red Raiders used fast starts in sets two and three before the Niners made a late charge in the fourth period to force a fifth set. Foster and Washington had kills late in the fourth to cut the Niners’ deficit to just two late at 16-14. Foster followed with the final four kills of the night, but Texas Tech put up two and three points late in the four-set match win.
Foster again hit a match-high 25 kills and hit .400 with eight digs. MacArthur hit nine kills and hit .467 with three digs and three blocks, while Washington recorded nine kills and eight digs.
Game two: Charlotte 3, College of Charleston 2
Set one, the Niners came back with seven points to win 25-21. Trailing 15-8, two errors by the Cougars combined with a Foster kill put the Niners in a three-point hole. Down 18-12, three Foster kills and an 8-0 run by Upshaw/Kretschmer turned the deficit into a two-point lead. Upshaw had another kill as Wetterstrom served another ace to take a 20-18 lead. Washington, Upshaw and MacArthur provided the final kills to complete the comeback 25-21.
The Niners led 18-11 after Kretschmer’s ace and MacArthur’s solo block. A late 21-20 lead by MacArthur’s kill, an ace by Whalen, an offensive error by the Cougars and two-straight kills from Foster put the Niners up 2-0 in the match.
College of Charleston (2-4) came back to take the next two sets in close fashion, forcing the Niners to take the ninth set of the day. Charlotte went ahead 8-5 on the switch before Washington began its rally. Another Wetterstrom kill pulled the Niners to within one at 10-9, Washington’s final kill at 11. Tied at 12-12, the defense forced a Cougars hitting error before Upshaw converted the final two kills needed to complete the five-game winning streak.
Saturday night’s final stats included Foster adding 26 more kills to finish the day with 51 over nine sets. Washington added 13 team-high 20 digs with McArthur and Upshaw following with 12 and 11, respectively, while Wetterstrom dished out 53 assists and Pole popped up with 17 digs. Foster had another double-double with 13 digs and MacArthur and Upshaw each added four blocks.
North Carolina is next at home
Charlotte now returns to Halton Arena on Tuesday night to take on North Carolina at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday’s matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with all previews, stats and ticket links available online at http://www.charlotte49ers.com.
