Gardner-Webb Defeats Charleston Southern 3-1 on Alumni Weekend
October 03, 2009 | Volleyball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team bounced back from a second set loss to take sets three and four and defeat the Lady Buccaneers 3-1 in Big South Conference action on Saturday afternoon and alumni weekend.
The Lady Bulldogs took set one 25-21, fell in set two 16-25, and
then bounced back to win set three 25-18 and set four 25-21 to pick
up the 3-1 win over Charleston Southern.
With the win Gardner-Webb improves to 9-11 overall and 2-2 in the
Big South, while Charleston Southern falls to 10-9 and 1-3 in
conference play with the loss.
The first set was an exciting one, as neither team could manage to
pull away from the other, as the score was knotted up 14 times with
only two lead changes throughout the set.
Charleston Southern took a late lead at 21-20 on back-to-back GWU
attack errors, putting the pressure on the Lady Bulldogs and
forcing Head Coach Chris Phillips' to call a timeout.
Like on Friday night against Davidson, the Lady Bulldogs responded
out of the timeout, scoring four unanswered points capped off with
a kill by sophomore Laura Wilcox to take the first set 25-21.
With momentum on their side, the Lady Bulldogs appeared to be in
control of set two early, taking a 2-0 lead on a Regina Feagin
service ace. However, that was not the case, as the Lady
Buccaneers stormed past GWU, pulling out to a decisive 22-13 lead
late in the set.
Gardner-Webb battled to score three points down the stretch,
however, so did the Lady Buccaneers, as Charleston Southern took
the second set 25-16 to tie the match up at 1-1.
The Lady Bulldogs responded to the second set loss with pure heart
and determination, jumping out to a 7-5 lead on a kill from
freshman outside hitter Molly Rhyne, forcing a Charleston Southern
timeout.
Out of the timeout, Gardner-Webb did not take its foot off the gas
pedal, as the Lady Bulldogs held off the Lady Buccaneers to take a
19-13 lead on a kill by Wilcox.
A GWU attack error led the Lady Buccaneers cut the lead to two at
20-18, however, Charleston Southern would not get any closer in the
set, as Gardner-Webb put the set away with a 5-0 run to pick up the
25-18 set win and take a 2-1 match advantage.
Set four belonged to the Lady Bulldogs as GWU did not trail for the
entire set.
Charleston Southern was able to tie the score up at 14-14 on a kill
by Amanda Hall, however, the Lady Bulldogs responded with a 5-1 run
capped off by a Carolina Solano kill to take a 19-15 lead.
After the Lady Buccaneers battled back to cut the lead to one on
several occasions, the Lady Bulldogs always had an answer, as kill
by Wilcox put GWU up 22-20 late.
Charleston Southern only scored once more down the stretch, while
the Lady Bulldogs played solid in the end, pulling out a 25-21 set
win and a 3-1 match victory.
Wilcox led the way with a match-high 16 kills and two block
assists, while Rhyne added 12 kills and 14 digs of her own over the
four set match. Feagin had 49 set assists and 14 digs, while
fellow senior Jessica Clayton was huge once again off the bench for
the Lady Bulldogs, picking up nine kills and two total blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Melissa Richie recorded nine kills and five
digs, while Solano had six kills and five total blocks.
For Charleston Southern, Emily Libertowski had a team-high 11 digs,
while Nichole Diller and Hill had 10 and nine kills, respectively.
Setter Sam Sasan had a team-high 37 set assists and six digs, while
Hill recorded a team-high 15 digs.
The Lady Bulldogs will have a week off before hosting the Liberty
Lady Flames on Friday, October 9, at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena on
the campus of Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 3, Charleston Southern 1 |
