Gardner-Webb Falls At Home To Furman, 3-0
September 25, 2007 | Volleyball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb volleyball team played hard, but came up just short in each game of the match against nearby Furman, dropping the contest by a 3-0 score. Match scores were 23-30, 24-30, 17-30.
The Bulldogs drop to 8-10 on the season.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was senior Ashley Pridgeon. She was the lone GWU student-athlete that recorded double figures in kills, registering 11 for the match. Pridgeon also sliced the Paladin defense for two service aces. Junior Bethany Martin chipped in nine kills to go along with two aces.
Sophomore Regina Feagin dished out 30 assists while adding seven digs.
Defensively, junior Katie Matykowski posted a team-high 14 digs and senior Audra Harrison added 12.
The Bulldogs' had 35 kills compared to 43 for the visitors, but 30 of the GWU swings resulted in errors, while the Paladins had just 14 errors on the night.
In the first game, a ball handling error on the Paladins allowed head coach Chris Phillips' team to pull within one at 6-5. However, Furman ran off the next six points, thanks in large part to miscues by the Red and Black.
Facing a 25-14 deficit, Pridgeon slammed home a Feagin pass to ignite a Bulldog rally. GWU scored seven consecutive points. Two came via Martin while another came from the powerful swing of Heidi Steeinebrunner. Sophomore Brett Wilson split the defense for a service ace. However, Furman countered and tallied five of the final seven points to take game one.
GWU hung close in game two, but the Paladins once again used a spurt to take control of the game in the early going.
After the visitors built a 27-16 lead, rookie Carrie Long's kill gave the Bulldogs some hope. GWU totaled seven-of-nine points, mostly from attack errors by Furman. An attack error by the Bulldogs ended the game.
GWU took its first lead of the match in the third game, posting a two-point advantage at 10-8. The Bulldogs were unable to sustain the lead as Furman reeled off eight straight points. From that point on, GWU was unable to get back in sync as the visitors recorded kill after kill, splitting the defense and putting balls in hard to reach places.
The Bulldogs hope for better luck as they return to action on
Saturday, Sept. 29 at 2 p.m., when they host A-Sun rival Campbell
in Paul Porter Arena.
| Combined Stats |
| Box Score |
