FIRST-PLACE RADFORD BACK AT HOME VS. UNC ASHEVILLE FRIDAY

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SETTING THE STAGE

After winning three out of four on the road, including a big victory over Liberty, the Radford volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of the Dedmon Center Friday night, hosting UNC Asheville at 7 p.m.
The Highlanders play four of their last five regular-season contests at home, where they are 7-0 on the season.
Radford won the first meeting in four sets on Oct. 1.
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HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Records: 19-4, 10-1 Big South
Radford now holds a two-game lead in the conference over three teams that each have three league losses.
After her 22-kill outing on in Tuesday night's win, Maddie Palmer is now third in Radford rally-scoring history with 967 in her career. Only Rachel Wiechecki (1,465) and Divona Cox (1,066) have more.
Nationally, Palmer ranks 14th in points per set (5.13), 17th in aces per set (0.48) and 20th in kills per set (4.39). She has recorded 39 aces this season after totaling 36 in her first two years.
Haley Kleespies is just 10 away assists away from taking over fourth place on the program's career list for the rally-scoring era. She has 1,968 over 46 matches, an average of over 42 per contest and just under 11 per set.
For the season, Kleespies stands 13th in the nation in assists per set (11.32).
Mallory McKnight is now sixth in the conference overall and second among freshmen in hitting percentage at .288. She has had double-figure kills in four of the last six matches, giving her 165 on the season.
Amaya Rousseau has totaled 153 kills along with her team-leading 69 blocks, while Sydney Tekstra has contributed 152 kills.
Radford is now ranked 15th nationally in opponent hitting percentage at .157.
The Highlanders are the only team in the conference with two players among the top 10 in digs per set as Jackson stands eighth (3.84) and Palmer is 10^th (3.20). Kaylor Nash is close behind at 3.12. Jackson ranks fifth in league matches (4.12).

SCOUTING UNC ASHEVILLE

Records: 11-11, 5-6 Big South
UNC Asheville has won four of its last five, with the latest a five-set victory over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday when it rallied from two sets down.
Cara Guthrie ranks third in the Big South with 3.19 kills per set (255 total) and 3.66 points per set. She is also tied for seventh in aces per set.
Madison Vaughn stands fifth in the conference in hitting percentage at .297, while adding 190 kills and leading the team with 78 blocks. She is averaging 1.11 blocks per set in Big South matches to rank third.
Madisen Zyburt is fifth in the league with 4.04 digs per set, totaling 283 on the season.
As a team in conference play, the Bulldogs rank fifth in hitting percentage and sixth in both opponent hitting percentage and blocks.

UP NEXT

Radford plays its final regular-season road match on Tuesday, traveling to High Point.

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