Lady Bulldogs Fall On The Road at Coastal Carolina, 3-2
October 17, 2009 | Volleyball
Conway, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb women's volleyball team rallied from down two sets to force a fifth and decisive set, before ultimately falling to the Lady Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina 3-2 on Friday night in Conway, S.C.
Gardner-Webb lost the first two sets 14-25 and 27-29, but battled
back to win the third set 25-23 and then the fourth set 25-23 to
force a fifth set. In the final set the Lady Chants protected its
home court, taking the decisive set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
The loss drops the Lady Bulldogs to 9-14 overall and 2-5 in the
conference.
Gardner-Webb got off to a very slow start in the opening set,
falling behind 4-0 early to the Lady Chants, and never got back
into the set, trailing the entire way before falling 25-14.
The second set proved to be much different than the first, as the
Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a Laura Wilcox kill.
After the Lady Chanticleers scored to stop the GWU run, the Lady
Bulldogs added two more points to pull out to a 7-1 lead on a
Melissa Richie service ace.
The Lady Bulldogs held on to the lead at 16-9, only to have the
Lady Chanticleers go on a 9-1 run to take its first lead of the set
at 18-17.
The two teams traded points over the next several possessions,
until Coastal Carolina scored back-to-back points to take the set
29-27 and a 2-0 match advantage.
With their backs against the wall down 2-0, the Lady Bulldogs
responded by refusing to lose in the third set, as GWU trailed for
most of the game.
Down as many as five points, the Lady Bulldogs battled back to take
a 21-19 lead on three straight kills by way of Carol Solano, Evan
Moffitt and then Solano, taking its biggest lead of the set.
Coastal Carolina tied the score up as late as 23-23, yet this time
it would be the Lady Bulldogs who put the set away with
back-to-back points to take the 25-23 set win.
The fourth set proved to be evenly played through the first 10
possessions until Coastal Carolina went on a 4-1 run to pull out to
a 10-5 lead.
The Lady Chants held off the Lady Bulldogs for the majority of the
set and looked to have the win in hand with a 23-19 lead. However,
a Wilcox kill kick started a 6-0 run for the Lady Bulldogs, who
finished the set out in dominating fashion to take the 25-23 set
victory and force a fifth and decisive set.
Like the rest of the match, the fifth set was a back-and-forth
battle with both teams holding leads.
Gardner-Webb held the lead at 10-7 on a Molly Rhyne kill and looked
to have the momentum on its side, when the Lady Chanticleers
answered with a 7-1 run to take a 14-11 lead and hold match
point.
The Lady Bulldogs refused to go down without a fight, scoring the
next two points to cut the Coastal Carolina lead to one at 14-13.
However, the Lady Chanticleers got a kill by Sierra Livesay to put
the set away at 15-13 and give Coastal Carolina the 3-2 win.
A season-high 20 kills by Wilcox led Gardner-Webb, while Rhyne
added 11 kills of her own over the five set match. Senior setter
Regina Feagin dished out 53 sets assists, while Richie had a
team-high three service aces. Moffitt had a team-high 20 digs,
while senior libero Brett Wilson posted 16 digs over the five
sets.
Coastal Carolina's Chelsy Kimes had a match-high 23 kills, while
Livesay added 18 kills to help lead the Lady Chants to the five set
win. Setter Meagan Tracey dished out a match-high 56 set assists,
while Kimes also had a team-high 14 digs.
The Lady Bulldogs will remain on the road for its next contest,
traveling to Rock Hill, S.C. to take on the Lady Eagles of Winthrop
at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
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| Box Score: Coastal Carolina 3, Gardner-Webb 2 |
