Miscues Haunt Lady Bulldogs in 3-1 Loss to Winthrop on Saturday Afternoon
October 17, 2009 | Volleyball
Rock Hill, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team suffered its fourth-straight loss on Saturday afternoon, as the Lady Bulldogs committed 27 attack errors and six service errors in a 3-1 loss on the road at Winthrop University in Big South Conference volleyball action.
Gardner-Webb, who falls to 9-15 and 2-6 in conference play with the loss, came out of the gates full steam ahead, taking set one from the Lady Eagles 25-17. However, in the second set the Lady Eagles soared past the Lady Bulldogs, taking the fight away from GWU, winning the second set 25-20. With the momentum clearly shifted to its side, the Lady Eagles went on to take set three, 25-20, and set four, 25-17, to pick up the 3-1 win.
GWU started the match off on the right foot, as a service ace by senior Brett Wilson put the Lady Bulldogs up 2-0 early. For the rest of the opening set, the Lady Bulldogs never look back, running out to a 13-10 lead on a Molly Rhyne kill.
The Lady Eagles cut the lead to two at 13-11, but would not get any closer, as the Lady Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run capped off by a Laura Wilcox kill to take its largest lead of the set at 21-14.
After a Winthrop timeout and back-to-back Lady Eagle points' cut the GWU lead to five at 21-16, the Lady Bulldogs finished off the match on a 4-1 run to take the first set win at 25-17.
With the 1-0 match advantage heading into the second set, the Lady Bulldogs struggled at the beginning of the second set, falling behind 5-0 on three straight Kaley Viola service aces.
The Lady Bulldogs never recovered from the slow start, as the Lady Eagles soared to a 25-8 set victory and tied the match score up at 1-1.
Not only did the second set tie the match score up at 1-1, but it appeared to shift the momentum over to the Lady Eagles, as Winthrop led for most of the third set. The Lady Bulldogs held the lead for three times in the set, all only a one point lead, which was immediately erased by the Winthrop Eagles.
After the two teams remained within two points for most of the set, Gardner-Webb took a late 18-17 lead on a kill by sophomore Lauren Evans. Yet, like the entire set, the Lady Eagles had an answer, going on an 8-2 run, capped off by two GWU attack errors, to pick up the 25-20 win and take a 2-1 match lead.
Gardner-Webb refused to throw in the white towel, as the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-4 lead on a kill by senior middle blocker Jessica Clayton.
The lead would not last long, as the Lady Eagles of Winthrop battled back to take its first lead of the set at 12-11 on a Sara Felts kill, forcing a GWU timeout.
Out of the timeout the Lady Eagles ran off three straight points to take a 15-11 lead, a lead that Winthrop would not relinquish as the Lady Eagles defeated the Lady Bulldogs 25-17 for the set and 3-1 for the match.
Gardner-Webb, who committed 27 attack errors, for the match was again led by Wilcox and Rhyne, who posted 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior setter Regina Feagin recorded 37 assists, while Wilson had a match-high four service aces to go along with a team-high 14 digs, tying sophomore Evan Moffitt in that statistical category.
For Winthrop, Viola and Kelley Taylor both recorded 12 kills apiece, while Felts added 11 kills of her own over the four set match. Setter Kelsey Hall had a match-high 39 set assists, while three different players recorded 13 digs each.
The Lady Bulldogs will return home for its next two matches, as Coach Phillips' squad will first host USC Upstate on Tuesday, October 20th, at 7 p.m. and then welcomes the Radford Highlanders on Friday, October 23rd, at 7 p.m.
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| Box Score: Winthrop 3, Gardner-Webb 1 |
