Lady Bulldogs Stumble in 3-0 Loss to High Point On Saturday Afternoon
October 10, 2009 | Volleyball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team dropped its second consecutive match this weekend, as the Lady Bulldogs fell in three straight games to the High Point Panthers on Saturday afternoon.
Gardner-Webb struggled from the start, posting an attack percentage
of .082 for the match, falling to the Panthers 25-19, 25-16 and
25-21.
The loss drops the Lady Bulldogs to 9-13 overall and 2-4 in the Big
South, while High Point moves to 11-11 and 1-5 in conference play
with Saturday's win.
GWU got on the board first in the opening set and pulled out to an
8-6 lead on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Laura Wilcox.
However, the Panthers found its offensive groove, as High Point
pulled out to a 13-9 lead on a kill by Courtney Johnk.
High Point continued to put the pressure on the Lady Bulldogs,
running out to an 18-13 lead on a Megan Smith kill, forcing a GWU
timeout.
The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead to as close as four on three
separate occasions down the stretch but would not get any closer,
as the Panthers scored the 25-19 first set win.
Gardner-Webb never held the lead in the second set, as the Panthers
led from start to finish.
The Lady Bulldogs did tie the score up at 4-4 on yet another Wilcox
kill, yet High Point went on to hit .324 compared to the Lady
Bulldogs -.023 to take the decisive 25-16 set victory and a 2-0
match advantage.
After the Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the third set, the Lady
Bulldogs responded to take a 10-6 lead on four straight points,
including two service aces by Wilcox and a Regina Feagin kill.
The Lady Bulldogs held on to a 15-10 lead on a High Point service
error, only to have the Panthers respond with seven straight points
to take a 17-15 lead on a GWU attack error.
The momentum clearly shifted back to the Panthers, as High Point
outscored the Lady Bulldogs 8-6 down the stretch to win the third
set 25-21 and the match at 3-0.
Sophomore Evan Moffitt led the way for the Lady Bulldogs, posting a
team-high eight kills, while Molly Rhyne added five kills of her
own. Feagin had a team-high 25 assists to go along with 11 digs,
while freshman Melissa Richie had 17 digs for the match.
For Liberty, Smith had a match-high 11 kills, while three other
players had nine kills apiece. Libero Julie Hershkowitz recorded
20 digs for the match, while setter Holly Fong dished out 34 set
assists.
Gardner-Webb will continue its challenging Big South Conference
schedule next week, as the Lady Bulldogs will take on the Lady
Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina on Friday night, October 16th, at
7 p.m. in Conway, S.C.
###
| Box Score: High Point 3, Gardner-Webb 0 |
