Harrison Reaches Career Milestone As Bulldogs Take Down Owls In Critical A-Sun Match
October 12, 2007 | Volleyball
KENNESAW, Ga. – In Friday night's match, Senior Audra Harrison became the first player in Gardner-Webb history to record 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills, but fellow fourth-year player Ashley Pridgeon carried Gardner-Webb to a 3-1 victory over Kennesaw State in a critical A-Sun match by scores of 30-23, 27-30, 30-22, 30-22.
The Bulldogs improve to 12-12 on the year and even their mark at 3-3 in A-Sun play. The Owls fall to 3-19 on the year and 1-4 in conference competition.
Pridgeon posted 23 kills to lead the way while junior Bethany Martin chipped in 11. Sophomore Regina Feagin dished out a team-best 42 assists while Heidi Steinebrunner's three aces were a match-high.
Defensively, junior Katie Matykowski tallied a match-best 24 digs. Harrison and Feagin each added 10 apiece. Feagin also posted a match-high two solo blocks. Pridgeon had three total blocks for the contest.
After facing an early 2-1 deficit in game one, the Bulldogs pawed their way back, taking a 4-2 advantage behind an ace by Pridgeon and a kill from Martin. GWU found itself in a small hole again, trailing 7-6. However, sophomore Jessica Clayton notched a kill, sparking a 5-1 run by the visitors for a 12-8 lead.
The Bulldogs extended their margin to seven at 16-9 when Harrison slammed home a pass from Feagin for her first kill of the match. After a timeout, KSU tried to get back into the contest, pulling within two at 21-19.
With the score close, head coach Chris Phillips called a timeout – and the Bulldogs responded by winning nine of the final 13 points to close out the game, 30-23.
The Bulldogs fell into a major hole to start game two, trailing the home squad by a 7-1 score. However, Pridgeon's kill ignited the team as GWU pulled within one at 9-8. KSU responded with a 7-2 run of its own for a 16-10 advantage.
Facing an eight-point deficit at 20-12, a service error by Jenny Black gave GWU a glimmer of hope – and a side out. Martin responded with an ace and a kill by Feagin forced a KSU timeout. GWU recorded two of the next three points and eventually pulled within one at 22-21 on an attack error by the Owls.
KSU managed to tally the next four points, but once again GWU would not quit. The Bulldogs amassed five of seven points to once again trail by only one, but the Owls were able to stave off a furious comeback attempt by the Red and Black for a 30-27 victory.
The momentum GWU had near the end of game two carried over to the third game. The Bulldogs raced out to a 10-3 lead, mainly by forcing the opposition into attack errors due to superb blocking – something the team needed badly.
GWU maintained at least a five-point lead the rest of the way, and it increased to seven on three occasions, the latest at 27-20 as Steinebrunner sliced through the defense with one of her aces. Up 28-22 on a kill by Pridgeon, the Owls committed two straight errors to end the game, 30-22.
In what turned out to be the deciding game, GWU once again came out of the gate on fire, posting a 10-3 lead off a Feagin block of Black. Up 11-6, a ball handling error gave the Bulldogs another point. Then, Feagin set up Harrison for her fourth kill of the night and the 1,000th for her career, all while taking a seven-point advantage.
After a timeout by KSU, the Bulldogs continued to slam home the open shot or force the Owls into mistakes for easy points. GWU took a 10-point lead at 26-16 and the teams essentially traded points the rest of the way for the 30-22 victory for the Bulldogs.
GWU returns to action tomorrow at 2 p.m., when it takes on
Mercer in Macon, Ga., in another crucial A-Sun match.
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