2009 Gardner-Webb Volleyball Season Review
December 08, 2009 | Volleyball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - Despite having only three upperclassman on the roster in 2009, the Lady Bulldogs continued to improve throughout the season, recording 12 wins which more than doubled its win total from 2008.
The Gardner-Webb women's volleyball team posted four wins in
conference play, one more than in its inaugural year last season,
yet accomplished a number of firsts throughout the season which
included its first ever season sweep of a Big South Conference foe
in its two wins over Radford and its first ever over Coastal
Carolina.
At home in Paul Porter Arena the Lady Bulldogs were a force to be
reckoned with, as GWU picked up eight wins in front of its home
crowd, the most in one season since winning eight at home in 2007
and nine at home in 2006.
The Lady Bulldogs opened up the season at Illinois State in the
Redbird Classic in Normal, Illinois, the home state for senior
Regina Feagin, sophomores Laura Wilcox and Lauren Evans and for
head coach Chris Phillips. The homecoming was not what the Lady
Bulldogs would have liked, as Coach Phillips young squad dropped
all three matches, one to host Illinois State, one to Oral Roberts
and one to UT-Arlington, to fall to 0-3 to start the season.
Gardner-Webb looked to turn things around as the Lady Bulldogs
returned home to host the Runnin' Bulldog Classic. After dropping
back-to-back matches on Friday night, including a heartbreaking 3-2
loss to the Wofford Terriers, Gardner-Webb responded by defeating
the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Lady Hawks, the eventual
champions, 3-2 on Saturday morning for GWU's first win on the
year.
However, the win took its toll on the Lady Bulldogs, as
Gardner-Webb then fell to Wofford 3-0 later on in the afternoon to
fall to 1-6 overall.
Hopes were high as despite its 1-6 record the Lady Bulldogs were
beginning to play some of its best volleyball, as the young team
went on to pick up two straight wins at the Catamount Clash,
defeating both Western Carolina and Howard 3-1.
With two straight wins under its belt, the Lady Bulldogs ran into a
tough challenge, as Gardner-Webb faced off with Cleveland State on
day two of the Catamount Clash. Cleveland State, who entered the
match at 8-2, was too much for the Lady Bulldogs and handed
Gardner-Webb a 3-0 loss to wrap up the two-day event.
GWU returned home to blank North Carolina A&T 3-0, before going
1-2 at the Winthrop Volleyball Classic with the lone win being a
3-2 five set thriller over Davidson in dramatic fashion.
Sitting at 5-9 on the season, the Lady Bulldogs kicked off Big
South Conference play with a 3-1 loss at UNC Asheville on September
22nd, before picking up back-to-back wins at home versus
Bethune-Cookman and on the road at Radford.
After dropping a home contest to Presbyterian College 3-1, the Lady
Bulldogs again won two straight games, beating Davidson at home 3-0
and then defeating the Lady Buccaneers of Charleston Southern 3-1
at home to move to 9-11 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Gardner-Webb then went toe-to-toe with the preseason favorite Lady
Flames of Liberty on October 9th, winning the first two sets before
ultimately falling to Liberty 3-2 at home. The loss took the air
out of the Lady Bulldogs, as GWU then dropped its next three
contests, all of which were conference matches.
Back-to-back home wins over USC Upstate and Radford stopped the
losing streak at four for the Lady Bulldogs. The win over the Lady
Spartans of USC Upstate was the Lady Bulldogs 10th win on the
season, doubling its win total from 2008, while the conference win
over Radford gave GWU three conference wins, tying its total from
2008, and gave the Lady Bulldogs its first ever conference series
sweep.
Yet the season was not over for the young Lady Bulldogs, as
Gardner-Webb hit a wall, dropping its next six contests, all of
which were conference bouts, to fall to 11-21 overall and 3-12 in
the Big South.
With one more match to play in the regular season, the Lady
Bulldogs played its best all around match of the year, as
Gardner-Webb dominated from start to finish to defeat the Lady
Chanticleers 3-1, sending the three seniors out with a win in their
final home contest.
With the win over Coastal Carolina, the Lady Bulldogs posted four
conference wins on the season, surpassing its win total of three in
its inaugural year in the Big South in 2008.
Gardner-Webb's 4-12 conference record put them as the No. 7 seed
heading into the 2009 Big South Volleyball Championship tournament,
putting them up against the No. 2 seeded Liberty Lady Flames for
the second straight year.
Liberty proved to be too much for the Lady Bulldogs, as
Gardner-Webb's season ended with a 3-0 loss to the Lady Flames in
the first round of the conference championship tournament.
For the second straight season, middle blocker Laura Wilcox was
named to the Second-Team All-Conference, as the sophomore led the
team with 446 points and 368 kills on the season. Wilcox was
second on the team with 60 total blocks and was third on the team
with 40 service aces.
Freshman outside hitter Molly Rhyne was named to the All-Freshman
Team, as she came on strong toward the end of the season. Rhyne,
who was named the Big South Freshman of the Week on October 26th,
tied for the team lead with 368 kills and was second on the team
with 410 points.
The Big South Conference also honored GWU's Evan Moffitt, as she
was named to the All-Academic Team. Moffitt, who was second on the
team with 312 digs, fourth in blocks with 42 and fourth in services
aces with 39, was rewarded for her work in the classroom, as she
has posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.7812 while working
toward her degree in Chemistry and a minor in mathematics.
While the loss of seniors Regina Feagin, the all-time career assist
leader in GWU history, Brett Wilson and Jessica Clayton will effect
the team in 2010, as all three played well in their final seasons
at GWU, the future still looks bright for Coach Phillips and her
squad. GWU will return eight of its 11 players next season,
including its top-five scorers. With a solid core of the roster
returning next season and the addition of the five highly touted
incoming freshmen, the Lady Bulldogs have high hopes and
expectations for the program not only now, but in the years to
come.
