Runnin' Bulldogs Sweep Asheville, 3-0, at Home on Friday Night
October 15, 2011 | Volleyball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs received a combined 25 kills from seniors Lauren Evans and Laura Wilcox in a 3-0 sweep of UNC Asheville, 25-19, 25-23, and 25-23, on Friday night at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C.
The win pushes GWU to 6-14 overall and 2-4 in the Big South, while Asheville falls to 10-9 overall and 3-3 in conference play with the loss.
In the first set, the Runnin' Bulldogs offensive efficiency was the difference, as GWU's .429 attack percentage erased four service aces by the Asheville Bulldogs en route to a 25-19 set win.
GWU ran out to a 12-6 lead to start the opening set, forcing Asheville to call an early timeout.
Out of the timeout, Asheville battled back with an 8-3 run to cut the GWU lead to one at 15-14 and forced the Runnin' Bulldogs to call their first timeout.
A kill by junior Carol Solano got the GWU offense back on track; as the home team finished the set on a 10-5 run, capped off by back-to back kills by Evans and Solano, to give GWU the 25-19 first set win.
Up 1-0 in the match, GWU again ran out to an early 7-3 lead on back-to-back Solano points to start the second set.
Asheville cut the GWU lead to one at 12-11 by way of back-to-back Runnin' Bulldog errors, only to have the home team answer with a 4-2 run to push their lead back out to three at 16-13 and force an Asheville timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Asheville Bulldogs stormed back to take their first lead of the set at 18-17 on a GWU error.
The two teams' then traded points, until a kill by Wilcox tied the score up at 23-23.
With the set up for grabs, Gardner-Webb finished the set out strong with two straight points finished off by another Wilcox kill to hand the Runnin' Bulldogs the 25-23 set win and a 2-0 match advantage.
Looking to put the match away in straight sets, the Runnin' Bulldogs fell behind early at 2-0 on back-to-back errors to start the third set.
After running off five straight points to take a 5-2 lead and force an Asheville timeout, the visiting Bulldogs answered with a 6-2 run to take a one point lead over Gardner-Webb at 8-7.
Refusing to give in, the Runnin' Bulldogs pushed their lead to five at 16-11 on a Wilcox kill and threatened to run away from the Asheville Bulldogs.
GWU found themselves in a tough battle, as the Asheville Bulldogs tied up the score up at 18-18 and once more at 23-23, putting the pressure on the Runnin' Bulldogs.
One more, like in the second set, the Runnin' Bulldogs finished the frame out on a high note, taking advantage of two Asheville miscues to record the 25-23 set win and a 3-0 match victory.
Evans led the way for GWU with 14 kills and eight digs, while Wilcox posted 11 kills and an attack percentage of .688 for the match.
For Asheville, Holly Shelton led the Bulldogs with 11 kills, while Jaimie Dorfman had three service aces in the loss.
Gardner-Webb (6-14, 2-4 Big South) will have a week off before hitting the road to take on Charleston Southern on Friday, October 21st, at 7 p.m. in the Buccaneer Field House.
Asheville (10-9, 3-3 Big South) will also return to action next week, as the Bulldogs will take on Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 3, UNC Asheville 0 |
