Slow Starts Devastate Lady Bulldogs in 3-0 Loss to High Point on Friday Night
November 07, 2009 | Volleyball
High Point, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team fell behind early in all three sets on Friday night, as the Lady Bulldogs fell to the High Point Panthers in straight sets 3-0.
In addition to falling behind early in every set, the Lady Bulldogs struggled offensively as GWU posted an attack percentage of only .088, committing 21 attack errors for the match.
The loss drops the Lady Bulldogs to 11-18 overall and 3-9 in conference play and is GWU's third straight loss.
Gardner-Webb struggled at the start of the opening set, falling behind 7-2 to the Panthers before three straight points, highlighted by a kill by freshman Carolina Solano, got the Lady Bulldogs back in the match at 7-5.
A kill by freshman Molly Rhyne put the Lady Bulldogs down by one at 9-8, yet Gardner-Webb would not get any closer as High Point answered with an 11-6 run to pull out to a six point lead at 20-14 late in the set.
GWU refused to give in, capitalizing on back-to-back High Pointer errors to cut the High Point lead to two at 22-20.
Yet down the stretch of the set, the Lady Bulldogs traded points with the Panthers, failing to put together back-to-back points, and ultimately loss the first set 25-22.
The second set started out just like the first, as High Point roared out to 5-0 lead before the Lady Bulldogs got on the board on a Holly Fong service error.
A High Point attack error and a block by Solano and senior Jessica Clayton allowed the Lady Bulldogs to cut the lead to two at 5-3, before four straight unanswered points pushed the High Point Panther back out in front by six at 10-4.
The Lady Bulldogs continued to struggle both offensively and defensively for the remainder of the set, as the Panthers extended its lead to double-digits at 19-9. Yet, a kill by freshman Melissa Richie got the GWU offense going, as the Lady Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run to cut the High Point lead to two at 23-21.
After a kill my High Point's Megan Smith gave the Panthers set point at 24-21, the Lady Bulldogs responded with a kill from Rhyne and a High Point attack error to get within one at 24-23 and force a High Point timeout.
The timeout faired well for the Panthers, as High Point's Courtney Johnk put the set away with a kill to give High Point the 25-23 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
The trend continued in the third set, as the Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a GWU attack error. However, this time the Lady Bulldogs responded with a 5-1 run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Solano and sophomore Laura Wilcox to take its first lead of the match at 5-4.
Yet the Gardner-Webb lead did not last long, as High Point answered with a 7-2 run capped off by a Lyndsay Rowley service ace to push its lead out to 11-7 and force a Lady Bulldog timeout.
The set of runs continued, as Gardner-Webb went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to one at 11-10, only to have High Point reply with a 3-0 of its own to push the lead back out to four at 14-10.
Again the Lady Bulldogs responded with three consecutive points, as High Point attack error again cut the Panthers lead to one, this time at 14-13.
Gardner-Webb would not get any closer for the remainder of the set, as the Panthers refused to relinquish the lead en route to its 25-22 set win.
Rhyne led the way for the Lady Bulldogs with 10 kills, while Wilcox added eight kills of her own over the three set match. Senior setter Regina Feagin tallied 25 set assists, while fellow classmate Brett Wilson recorded a team-high 12 digs.
High Point was led by Smith's 12 kills and Megan Kaminskas 10 kills, while Fong had a match-high 32 assists and three service aces on the night.
The Gardner-Webb volleyball team will remain on the road for its next contest, as the Lady Bulldogs will take on the Liberty Lady Flames tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in Lynchburg, Va.
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| Box Score - High Point 3, Gardner-Webb 0 |
