Charlotte, NC - The Johnson & Wales Charlotte volleyball team picked up their first home win of the season as they split a doubleheader against Carolina University and Claflin University on Saturday afternoon.

Carolina U. swept the afternoon's first contest 3-0, winning 25-18, 25-13, and 25-14. Erica Rawlings led the attack with 6 kills. Loshi Ward had 15 assists and 9 digs.

The second match against Claflin was much tighter. JWU rallied from down three points mid way through the first set to tie the score at 20. They then won 5 of the final 7 points to take the period 25-22. The Panthers responded by jumping out to a 16-3 lead in the second set, ultimately going on to prevail 25-11. The third period was close throughout, as neither team led by more than 3 points at any time. Claflin seemed poised to go up 2-1 in the match as they had a set point at 24-22 before JWU scored 5 of the final 6 points, keyed by kills from Gabrielle Bazile and Kalin Lincoln. The Wildcats used an 8-2 run in the middle of the fourth set to turn a 5-5 tie into a 13-7 lead, and then were never seriously threatened the rest of the way, going on to win 25-21. 

Lincoln had 10 kills to go along with 18 digs. Bazile added 8 kills, 2 aces, 1 solo block and 4 block assists. Ward handed out 32 assists, while Chanel Garcia recorded 28 digs. 

JWU wraps up a four game homestand on Monday, September 30th when they welcome Livingstone for a 6pm match.