Runnin' Bulldogs Fall on the Road at PC, 3-0
October 06, 2012 | Volleyball
Clinton, S.C. - In a critical early season Big South Conference match versus the Presbyterian College Lady Blue Hose on Friday night, the Gardner-Webb volleyball team battled the home standing Lady Blue Hose for three sets, yet came up just short in all three games to suffer a 3-0 loss in Templeton Arena in Clinton, S.C.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fell in straight sets 18-25, 23-25 and 23-25 to the Lady Blue Hose on Friday night.
The loss drops Gardner-Webb to 7-14 overall, 2-2 in Big South play and 0-6 in true road contests on the season, while Presbyterian improves to 6-13 and 3-1 in conference play with the win.
Reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Week Tyler Cockrell led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a team-high 10 kills, while fellow junior Amanda Murphy posted a team-high .800 attack percentage in the three set loss. Sophomore setter Heather Feldman tallied 29 set assists, six digs and one service ace, while freshman libero Anna Pashkova led the way with a team-high 12 digs and two service aces on the night.
For Presbyterian, Presley Mabrey and Allison Brown each posted double digit kills for the match, 16 and 11, respectively, while setter Ashtin Frank totaled 43 assists and libero Mary Trimpe recorded 15 digs, both of which were match-highs.
The first set proved to be a back-and-forth affair in the opening possessions, as two kills from Murphy put the Runnin' Bulldogs on top at 2-1, only to have PC post two straight points to take its first lead of the set at 3-2.
Neither team could pull away in the early stages, as the Lady Blue Hose's 7-4 lead was the largest for either team for most of the contest.
Down 10-8, the Runnin' Bulldogs used a 4-0 run, highlighted by three PC errors and a Molly Rhyne kill, to retake the lead at 12-10 over the home team. However, Presbyterian answered with a 9-3 scoring run, capped off by three straight kills by Mabrey, to pull back in front by four at 19-15 and force GWU to call a timeout.
Gardner-Webb picked up another kill from Murphy out of the timeout to cut the PC lead to three at 19-17, however, the Runnin' Bulldogs would not get any closer for the remainder of the opening set, as Presbyterian posted five kills to GWU's one down the stretch to hold on and defeat the Runnin' Bulldogs 25-18.
GWU again took an early lead in the second set, this time at 2-1 on a PC service error, and refused to relinquish the lead to the home team by answering each one of Presbyterian's points with a point of its own to hold on to a slight 4-3 lead on a Cockrell kill.
Yet a 6-2 run by the Lady Blue Hose, including two more kills from Mabrey, pushed the home team in front by two at 9-7.
After back-to-back kills by GWU's Murphy and Rhyne knotted the set up at 9-9, the two teams' went point for point over the next several rallies, until a 5-1 outburst by PC put the home team back on top by three at 15-12 on an Andrea Barman kill.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would pick up a kill from Cockrell and take advantage of a PC service error over the next six plays; however, the Lady Blue Hose scored the other four points to extend its lead to five at 19-14.
A kill by Gardner-Webb's Carolina Solano put the Runnin' Bulldogs down four at 19-15, but also jump started a 5-2 run by the visitors to cut the PC lead to two at 21-19 and force a Lady Blue Hose timeout.
PC would register a kill by Brown out of the timeout to push its lead back out to three at 22-19, yet GWU would not go away and scored the next two points, highlighted by a kill by junior right side hitter Emily Holte, to cut the Presbyterian lead to one at 22-21.
After back-to-back points by the Lady Blue Hose gave the home team set point at 24-21, Gardner-Webb fought off two straight set points to again cut the PC lead to one at 24-23 and force the home team use its second and final timeout.
Looking to fend off its third straight set point, Gardner-Webb surrendered a kill to Frank of PC to drop the second set 25-23 and fall behind 2-0 in the match.
Just like in the first two sets, GWU saw an early 2-1 lead slip away, as PC took a 5-4 lead on a kill by Elizabeth Miller to start the third set.
GWU picked up a kill from Feldman and back-to-back PC errors to retake the lead at 7-6, only to have the Lady Blue Hose answer with a run of its own to pull out to a three point lead at 10-7 and force a Runnin' Bulldog timeout.
A 5-2 surge by the Runnin' Bulldogs, which included four straight points, put the visitors within striking distance at 14-13, yet again the Lady Blue Hose would have an answer, this time two straight points to extend its lead back out to three at 16-13.
Refusing to go away, Gardner-Webb ran off three straight points to tie the set up at 16-16 on a Feldman kill and looked poised to retake the lead once more from the Lady Blue Hose.
Yet, the home team had other plans, as Presbyterian picked up kills from Barman and Frank, as well as a second kill from Barman two plays later to take a 19-17 lead over GWU.
The back-and-forth contest continued, as it was the Runnin' Bulldogs' turn to make a run, as Gardner-Webb put together five straight points, capped off by a Solano kill, to take its largest lead of the match at 22-19.
After a Tyra Montour kill put the Runnin' Bulldogs in front by two at 23-21, the Lady Blue Hose took advantage of two GWU attack errors and one block error to outscore GWU 4-0 and pick up the 25-23 come from behind set win and the 3-0 match victory.
While each team posted 17 attack errors overall, the Lady Blue Hose tallied 115 total attack attempts and a .287 attack percentage compared to the Runnin' Bulldogs 92 total attacks and .174 attack percentage for the match.
Gardner-Webb will return to action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m., as the Runnin' Bulldogs will try to snap an eight-match road losing streak, dating back to last year, against the Winthrop Lady Eagles in Rock Hill, S.C.
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| Box Score: PC 3, GWU 0 |
