Gardner-Webb Swept By Delaware
September 19, 2008 | Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Gardner-Webb volleyball team fought hard, but fell to Delaware in the first match of the Charleston Invitational Friday afternoon by a 3-0 score (15-25, 13-25, 18-25).
The Bulldogs fall to 2-9 on the year while the Blue Hens improve to 3-8.
GWU hit -.038 as a team with 19 kills and 23 errors in 105 total
attempts while Delaware powered home a .264 attack percentage. The
Blue Hens had 40 kills against just 11 errors in 110 attempts.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs once again was rookie middle
blocker Laura Wilcox. She amassed a team-best eight kills in 20
attempts for a .150 hitting percentage. Bethany Martin chipped in
five kills while Heidi Steinebrunner managed three.
Of the 19 kills by the Bulldogs, the squad amassed 18 assists.
Junior Regina Feagin dished out 17 of the assists while newcomer
Lauren Evans had the other one for the Red and Black.
Feagin also had both of the Bulldogs' service aces to go along with
eight digs.
Senior Katie Matykowski continued her assault on the career digs
mark, notching a match-high 13. Wilcox and Steinebrunner each
chipped in seven digs. Wilcox also amassed a solo block and a block
assist. Evans had the other block assist.
GWU had a tough time going against a tall front line, including 6-5
Elena Delle Donne, who posted five block assists for the designated
visitors. Meghan Bonk had four block assists for Delaware.
In the first set, GWU held a 9-7 lead after an attack error by
Katie Dennehy. However, the Blue Hens rolled off six straight
points, forcing head coach Chris Phillips to call a timeout. The
break in action didn't help much as Delaware added seven points on
the next eight balls in play, leading to a 20-10 advantage. GWU was
unable to slice into the deficit, falling 25-15.
Delaware jumped out to an 11-3 advantage after GWU had a 2-1 lead
in set two. Wilcox stopped the 11-3 run with a kill. Rookie Evan
Moffitt got into the action with another kill, putting the score
11-5. However, the Blue Hens went on a 7-1 run to put the set out
of reach for the Red and Black.
After trailing 10-5 in set three, GWU fought back to pull within one when Delle Donne had an attack error. However, the Bulldogs could get no closer as Delaware ran off the next three points and seven of the next eight to put the match out of reach.
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m., when they take on the College of Charleston before facing Duke at 5:30 p.m., in the final match of the tournament.
| Box Score |
