Volleyball takes down Asbury

BARBOURVILLE, Ky - Though they had to fight for it after a dominant start, Union volleyball mustered enough to outlast a feisty Asbury team in four sets Saturday.

Jordan Kusan had 25 assists, Raquel Kessler made 10 kills, and the duo teamed up to end a marathon fourth set, pushing the Bulldogs to a 25-16, 25-14, 16-25, 28-26 victory, their fourth in the last five matches.

The Bulldogs never so much as trailed in two non-competitive sets to open the day, but had no answer for Megan Walden and Erin Sexauer, who both had five kills in set three.

Union started slow again in the fourth set, falling behind 19-13 before a Madison Jennings kill off a Kusan assist started an 8-2 run, tying the score at 21.

Things went back and forth, as Union had its first match point as Kusan assisted on kills by Emily Shumaker and Kessler to make it 25-24. Asbury proceeded to score the next two points, but service and attack errors set the stage for Kusan and Kessler to connect for the final point.

Shumaker also had 10 kills while Maddy McGaughey led all players with 16 digs.

After suffering through a six-game losing streak, the Bulldogs are 4-1 in their last five outings and are now 12-14 overall. They return to Appalachian Athletic Conference action on Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. road matchup against Bryan (Tenn.).