Published: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 08:06 AM

Eagle squads have key matchups on home fields this weekend

Winthrop athletics has a lot of home action this weekend, with the cross country teams hosting the Winthrop Fall Classic on Saturday morning, men's soccer takes on Radford on Saturday afternoon and the volleyball team taking on UNC Asheville in the Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday.

Volleyball takes on the most importance, with Winthrop (12-6 overall, 5-1 in the Big South) tied for second place in the conference. UNC Asheville comes in at 17-5 and 6-0 in BSC matches.

The match is the first of five consecutive home matches for Winthrop. The Eagles are 8-0 at home, and a win could help pave the way for a conference title.

Kaley Viola, a junior outside hitter, is excited to face UNC Asheville. She noted the Bulldogs' recent win over Liberty, the only conference team to beat Winthrop.

“This game is big,” she said.

Viola has become a go-to player, after working hard over the summer on her agility and adding an inch on her vertical jump. Her play has helped Winthrop to a five-game winning streak.

“I am one of seven juniors on this team, and it feels like we all rub off on one another,” Viola said. “We have a good atmosphere.”

She leads the team with 590 total attacks. Senior right side hitter Kelley Taylor is second with 442.

Part of Viola's rise has come with the team's understanding of coach Sally Polhamus' system.

“It took two years to train the techniques. Now they have mastered it,” Polhamus said. “Kaley has shown major improvement this year. She has done an incredible job developing.”

Viola was the top offensive player in Winthrop's two Big South Conference wins last week. Against Coastal Carolina, she compiled a rare combination of 20 kills and 20 digs. She is the first player in the league to put up a 20-20 this season. Against Presbyterian she had 16 kills and a .414 killing percentage.

Viola is following in the footsteps of her father, Frank, a go-to major league pitcher who was the go-to guy in the Minnesota Twins' rotation for many years. Viola won the American League Cy Young Award in 1988, when he went 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA. Kaley was born that year.

“It's really cool to see now that everyone knows my dad,” Kaley said. “It is so weird, though. On Sunday, I got all these texts from friends who said they just saw my dad on TV.” Her father threw out the first pitch of the Twins-Yankees playoff game in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Viola leads the BSC with 4.43 kills per game and is one of six players in the league with two 20-kill matches to her credit.

After Friday's match, Winthrop plays Gardner-Webb (Sat., 2 p.m.), Charleston Southern (Tues., 6 p.m.), High Point (Oct. 23, 7 p.m.) and Liberty (Oct. 24, 2 p.m.). Winthrop's five-set loss at Liberty this season was the longest match in the NCAA since 1999.

Winthrop Fall Classic

Look for Winthrop and Furman to battle it out in the men's and women's races the way they did last week at the Furman Invitational. The Paladins won both in Greenville.

Winthrop sophomore Adam Freudanthal has been coming on strong with four consecutive top 10 finishes. He was edged out by less than a second last week by Furman's Charlie McGoohan who won the race. The two are good friends. They worked together this summer at a running camp.

“(McGoohan) had a little gap on me going into the last 800 meters,” Freudenthal said. “We both gave it all we had for the last half mile.”

Saturday's race could be a repeat.

“I guess we know the course and we are a little more comfortable running at home,” Freudenthal said. “We know the twists and turns and know when we can surge away from people.”

The Citadel, Campbell, Georgia Southern, Benedict, Lenior Rhyne and Vorheees will also compete Saturday. The race is the final tune-up for Winthrop before the BSC championships Oct. 31 at High Point.

Men's soccer vs. Radford

The first-place Eagles (8-2-1 overall, 3-0-1 BSC) take on Radford (3-6-1 and 0-3-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday on Eagle Field.

Winthrop has the top brother-brother scoring combo in the country with Matt and Adam Skonicki.

Matt, a senior, leads the team with 11 goals and five assists. Adam, a freshman, has four goals. The Skonickis have combined for 35 points. Matt is second in the nation in scoring with 2.45 points a game, and his 11 goals ranks second as well. The senior forward is just two goals shy of his career high, which he reached in 2008.

Until this season, the closest the Skonickis had come to playing together was when their club teams practiced against each other.

“We've always wanted to play together. Our high school coach wouldn't allow freshmen to play on the varsity team,” Matt said.

Adam considered playing for Clemson but thought Winthrop had the better team.

“It's pretty cool,” Adam said. “On the field, I look to (Matt) for advice before anyone else. We know each other's tendencies.”

The Skonicki's closest competition comes from the Michigan State brother duo of Domenic and Mark Barone, which have combined for 13 points. Domenic has two goals and three assists; Mark has two goals and two assists.