Runnin' Bulldogs Fall At Winthrop in Straight Sets
November 13, 2010 | Volleyball
Rock Hill, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team dropped its final regular season match of the year on Saturday afternoon, as the Winthrop Eagles recorded seven service aces compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs one in the 3-0 sweep of Gardner-Webb in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Runnin' Bulldogs battled the Eagles in the first set before falling to Winthrop 25-23, while in the second and third set, Winthrop used long offensive runs to defeat GWU 25-16 and 25-13.
GWU led off its final regular season match with a solid start, as the Runnin' Bulldogs posted a .324 attack percentage as a team over the first set and used a 3-0 run capped off by a kill from right side hitter Carol Solano to tie the score up at 4-4 to start the first set.
The Runnin' Bulldogs used back-to-back kills from junior Lauren Evans and a block by both Evans and fellow junior Laura Wilcox to take a 9-8 lead over the Winthrop Eagles.
Gardner-Webb's first attack error did not come until the score was 11-9 in favor of the Runnin' Bulldogs, as the error cut the GWU lead to one at 11-10. However, the Runnin' Bulldogs maintained its two point lead over the next several possessions on kills from both Wilcox and sophomore outside hitter Molly Rhyne.
After a Sara Felts kill cut the GWU lead to one at 15-14, the Runnin' Bulldogs took advantage of two Winthrop Eagle errors to push its lead to three at 17-14 and force a Winthrop timeout.
GWU answered a 3-0 run by Winthrop which tied the score up once more this time at 17-17 with back-to-back Rhyne kills to hold on to a 20-18 lead.
However, the set of runs continued as Winthrop outscored Gardner-Webb 4-1 over the next five rallies to retake the lead at 22-21 and force a GWU timeout.
Out of the timeout, GWU scored two more points, yet the Eagles got a kill from Kelsey Hall to put the first set away at 25-23 in favor of Winthrop.
GWU again took an early lead in the second set, using a Winthrop attack error and an Evan Moffitt kill to take a 2-0 lead over the Eagles.
With the score tied up at 5-5, Winthrop went on a 10-0 run highlighted by five service aces by Kaley Viola to push the Eagles out in front by 11 at 16-5.
Back-to-back kills from GWU sophomore Melissa Richie and Wilcox stopped the Winthrop run and put the Runnin' Bulldogs down by nine at 16-7.
The Winthrop run just proved to be to much for GWU, as the Runnin' Bulldogs couldn't get any closer than eight points for the rest of the set, falling to Winthrop 25-16 in the second set.
The Eagles carried over its momentum from the second set win to the start of the third set, soaring out to a 5-1 lead on a kill from Viola.
After a GWU kill from Solano and an Amanda Murphy service ace, the Runnin' Bulldogs cut the Winthrop lead to three at 6-4, only to have the Eagles score the next six points to pull out to a 10-4 lead and force a GWU timeout.
Gardner-Webb put together a 4-2 run midway through the set to cut the Winthrop lead to five at 13-8, only to have the Eagles respond with four straight points to take a double-digit lead at 17-8.
The Runnin' Bulldogs continued to play hard throughout the set, however, the Eagles momentum couldn't be stopped on Senior Day, as Winthrop defeated GWU 25-13 in the third set and took the match 3-0.
Gardner-Webb got eight kills from Rhyne and six kills from Wilcox, while Moffitt dished out 22 set assists for the match.
Becca Toor's 17 kills led Winthrop, while Viola posted a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs in the win.
The loss is the Runnin' Bulldogs tenth straight, tying its longest losing streak of the year.
Gardner-Webb (5-26, 0-16 Big South) will now set its sights on making a run through the 2010 Big South Volleyball Championship on November 18-20 hosted by the Winthrop Eagles in Rock Hill, S.C. The Runnin' Bulldogs will take on the No. 1 seeded Liberty Flames for the third straight year in the first round of the postseason conference tournament on Thursday, November 18th.
###
| Box Score: Winthrop 3, Gardner-Webb 0 |
