Anderson Records a Career-High 21 Kills in a 3-1 Loss at High Point
October 27, 2012 | Volleyball
High Point, N.C. - Looking for its second straight road win on the weekend, the Gardner-Webb volleyball team took the first set from High Point only to drop the next three sets to fall to the Panthers 3-1 on Saturday evening at the Millis Center in High Point, N.C.
The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated High Point 25-23 in the first set, yet dropped the second set 22-25, the third 23-25 and the fourth 20-25 to fall to the Panthers 3-1 in the Big South Conference match.
The loss drops Gardner-Webb to 9-18 overall and 4-6 in conference play, while High Point improves to 18-8 and 7-3 in the Big South with the home win.
"It was a great match for both teams and neither team gave up," Coach Leo Sayles stated. "Erin (Anderson) was a game-saver for us. We had opportunities, but I think the turning point was missing five serves in the fourth set. It is tough to come from behind on someone else's court, but I am pleased with our effort today."
Gardner-Webb tallied three more kills than the Panthers (57-54) overall for the match and matched High Point with a .279 attack percentage as a team.
For the second straight match, juniors Erin Anderson and Tyler Cockrell each posted double digit kills, as Anderson led the way with a career-high 21 kills and Cockrell added 14 of her own. Cockrell added four blocks, while libero Anna Pashkova tallied 16 digs in the four set loss.
GWU's Amanda Murphy added seven kills, while sophomore Heather Feldman added three kills and dished out 46 set assists.
A trio of players led High Point with double-digit kills in Courtney Johnk, Chelsea Davis and Kristin Heldt, while setter Maddie Simpson posted 43 set assists in the win.
Early in the first set the Panthers used a 4-0 run, capped off by a Heldt kill, to take an 8-3 lead and force a Gardner-Webb timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Runnin' Bulldogs took advantage of three High Point errors to cut the Panther lead to one at 8-7, only to have the Panthers stay in front over the next several rallies to put the score at 14-11 in favor of the home team.
A kill from Cockrell, followed by back-to-back aces from junior right side hitter Emily Holte, kicked-off a 9-3 scoring run by the Runnin' Bulldogs who took a 20-16 lead on an Anderson kill.
After a 3-0 run by the Panthers cut the GWU lead to one at 20-19, Gardner-Webb accepted the challenge by finishing the set out with a 5-4 advantage to earn the first set win at 25-23.
Carrying over the momentum from the first set win, Gardner-Webb took a 4-1 lead in the second set on a Murphy kill, forcing an early High Point timeout.
The Panthers responded out of a timeout with an 8-3 run to take a two point lead at 9-7 on back-to-back kills from Simpson and Heldt. However, refusing to quit the Runnin' Bulldogs battled back to take a two point lead at 15-13 over the Panthers.
The lead would not last long, as High Point answered with a 6-3 run to retake the lead at 19-18.
GWU would tie the score up at 19-19 on a High Point service error, but was unable to pull back in front as the Panthers held on for the rest of the way en route to the 25-22 set win.
With the match tied up at one set apiece, the Panthers pounced out to a 5-1 lead to start the third set on a Johnk service ace.
Over the next several rallies, GWU cut the High Point lead to one on several occasions, only to see the Panthers come up with a key point to remain in front and push their lead out to five at 14-9.
With the Panthers up 21-17, a kill by Feldman got the Runnin' Bulldogs offense going, as Gardner-Webb cut the High Point lead to one at 24-23 on a kill by Anderson and a High Point error.
Gardner-Webb could not fight off a third straight High Point set point, as a Runnin' Bulldog service error gave the Panthers the 25-23 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth set, Gardner-Webb took a 6-3 lead on a 4-0 run, only to see the Panthers battle back to take a 10-7 lead on a Runnin' Bulldog error.
After tying the set up at 11-11, on yet another Anderson kill, and then again at 15-15 on a Cockrell kill, the Runnin' Bulldogs took a one point lead at 17-16 and then 18-17.
A GWU service ace would tie the score up at 18-18, as High Point finished the set out on a 7-2 run to record the 25-20 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
The win was the fourth straight for the Panthers, while GWU fell to 3-12 overall versus High Point in volleyball action.
Gardner-Webb will step out of conference play to take on East Tennessee State on Tuesday night, October 30th, at 7 p.m., while High Point will host Liberty on Friday night, November 2nd, at 7 p.m. in the Millis Center.
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| Box Score: High Point 3, GWU 1 |
