BOX SCORE

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Powered by three double-doubles, Radford Volleyball rallied past UNC Asheville, 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10), and grabbed sole possession of third place in the Big South on Friday evening at the Justice Center.

With the victory, the Highlanders (14-14, 8-5 Big South) broke a deadlock with the host Bulldogs (14-12, 7-6) and clinched at least a tie for third place with one match remaining on the schedule. Tomorrow, Radford will head to Gardner-Webb for a 5 p.m. match, while Asheville hosts Liberty at 7:00.

Defense keyed the Highlanders in this big road win as four player reached double figure digs, led by Rachel Brummitt's (Plano, Texas/Plano West) match-best 26, followed by freshman Rachel Wiechecki's (Wilmington, Del.) career-high 22. For Brummitt, it was the rookie's league-best 16th 20-dig effort to go along with three more 30-dig performances.

Wiechecki also checked in with 15 kills, while senior Megan McWhorter (Newport News, Va./Peninsula Catholic), who continues to be strong in her comeback, charted a match-high 17 kills and added 11 digs. It marked the sixth double-double for each Highlander.

Also doubling up for the red and white was senior Leigh Myers (Baton Rouge, La./The Dunham School) with 29 assists and 10 digs. It was her third of the season and second in-a-row. Her setting partner, freshman Christine Beckham (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) dished out a team and career-best 32 assists. Myers and Brummitt also served up a match-high three aces apiece.

After dropping the first set, Radford closed out the second with an 8-4 run to even the match at one apiece. Wiechecki provided five of her kills, two during the late run, and the comeback was completed on a Brummitt ace.

The Bulldogs scored the final three points of game three to grab a 2-1 advantage.

Radford forced its school-record 11th fifth set as it grabbed an early 10-7 lead and led by as many as five (19-14) before topping Asheville, 25-21.

Behind an early 3-0 spurt and a .435 attack percentage, the Highlanders closed out the match with a 15-10 triumph.

Also chipping in was freshman Emma Deininger (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) with 10 kills (.412) and a match-high six bock assists. Junior Emily Hayes (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and sophomore Emily Carlin (Downington, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) added eight kills apiece. Hayes posted five block assists, while Carlin hit a match-high .429.