Bulldogs Fall 3-2 To Liberty
November 01, 2008 | Volleyball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb volleyball team lost a 3-2 decision (25-20, 12-25, 25-21, 17-25, 6-15) to Liberty Saturday afternoon in a Big South Conference match-up in Paul Porter Arena.
The Bulldogs fall to 5-21 on the season and 3-9 in Big South play.
Liberty improves to 20-6 overall and 11-1 in conference
competition.
The Bulldogs were led by senior Heidi Steinebrunner's 18 kills.
Rookie Laura Wilcox notched 12 kills while senior Bethany Martin
chipped in nine.
Junior Regina Feagin dished out 43 assists to go along with a team-high 17 digs. Tying her in the digs category was junior Brett Wilson, who also chipped in an assist.
Senior Katie Matykowski totaled 16 digs to go along with four
kills, an assist, an ace and a block assist. Rookie Evan Moffitt
had 12 digs, five assists, three kills and a block assist.
The Bulldogs jumped out on top by taking the first set 25-20. GWU
took a 4-1 lead off a kill by Moffitt only to see the visitors tie
it at 6-6. A 9-3 spurt by GWU, mostly behind the superb serving by
Wilson, gave the Bulldogs a commanding 15-9 advantage.
The Red and Black pushed its lead to eight, 18-10, on a kill by
Steinebrunner. However, three quick points forced a timeout by head
coach Chris Phillips. As the visitors continued to slice into the
lead, Phillips' team finally responded thanks to a kill by Lauren
Evans and an attack error by Liberty, forcing a timeout by the
Flames.
After the stoppage in time, Wilcox slammed home a pass from Feagin
for a 23-16 advantage. Two plays later, Evans put away a point
before Wilcox finally put the ste away with a kill, 25-20.
Liberty answered quickly, tying the match at one set apiece. After
a tight early second set, Liberty went on a 5-0 run, taking a 10-5
lead. GWU was unable to get things going as the Flames were able to
take the second set, 25-12.
After the intermission, the Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-5 lead
after an attack error by Karyl Bacon. The Flames eventually took a
14-12 lead, but the Bulldogs showed great resolve and battled back,
evening the score at 17-17 on a kill by Steinebrunner.
The teams traded points until Wilcox broke the deadlock with a kill. Feagin went back to her for another kill. Steinebrunner and Feagin helped end the third set by posting back-to-back kills for a 25-21 win.
In the back-and-forth match, Liberty answered the bell by jumping
out to a 17-9 lead. The Bulldogs tried to battle back, but were
unable to get things going until it was too late. GWU tacked on
five of the last nine points of the set, which forced the deciding
set.
The teams played even through four points as Matykowski notched a kill to tie the set at 2-2. However, the Flames were able to score seven of the next eight points to put an end to the Bulldogs' hopes of knocking off the top-seeded Flames.
The Bulldogs return to action on Tuesday when
they travel to UNCA for a 7 p.m., contest.
| Box Score |
