49ers Volleyball. Photo by Makeedah Baker.
The Charlotte 49ers volleyball team welcomed the Miners from the University of Texas at El Paso to Halton Arena Monday night for the first game of Conference-USA action.
The 49ers ended non-conference play on a three game losing streak and were looking to start the conference season on a positive note. Led by Abreia Epps, Charlotte grabbed the win 3-1 by scores of 25-11, 22-25, 28-26, 25-21.
Charlotte (4-7, 1-0) jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first set and forced UTEP to call a timeout. After a couple of blocks on defense and aces on offense the 49ers led 17-6. Charlotte went on to win the set 25-11 thanks to five team blocks and some miscommunication from the Miners.
The 49ers came out a little flat in the second set but managed to stay in the game. UTEP (6-9, 0-1) tied the game at 5-5 before Charlotte would score four straight giving them a 9-5 advantage. The game would go back and forth, but Charlotte was unable to hold off the Miners. The 49ers tied the set at 21-21 before giving up back to back points giving UTEP the lead. Charlotte would fall 25-22 following an ace from Lindsey Larson of the Miners.
The third set was also a very close contest. Neither team was able to get more than a point or two ahead before the other would rally and the score remained even for much of the set. Abreia Epps was able to keep the 49ers within reach posting ten kills in the third. Down 24-23 she would hammer home back to back kills to put Charlotte out in front. The 49ers would go on to grab the 28-26 win and keep from going down two sets to one.
In the fourth set Charlotte would come out firing on all cylinders. The 49ers built a 22-12 lead before they would let UTEP rally and cut the lead to 23-20. Epps added seven more kills and finished with a new career high of twenty-one as the 49ers went on to win 25-21. Sarah McDonald added fifteen kills of her own and Kaylyn Torain tallied nine. Britney Leigh Held had seven kills and forty-nine assists leading the 49ers in that category. Charlotte finished the night with nine team blocks thanks to solid play from the front line.
The win for the 49ers was the first win in the conference opener since 2004. “Once you get into conference, everybody is 0-0,” said first year Head Coach Karen Weatherington. “Coming back in that third set and fighting till the end is what makes the difference. We were just really happy to get the win.”
Charlotte will now head to Marshall, Friday night to kick off a three game road trip. The 49ers will look to improve to 2-0 in Conference-USA. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. start.