GWU Volleyball Falls in Straight Sets at Liberty in Season Finale
November 10, 2012 | Volleyball
Lynchburg, Va. - Gardner-Webb had a trio of players post eight kills apiece, however, it was not enough as the Runnin' Bulldogs fell in straight sets 21-25, 20-25 and 20-25 to the 2012 Big South Regular Season Volleyball Champions in the Liberty Lady Flames on Saturday afternoon in Lynchburg, Va.
With the loss, GWU's season comes to an end with a 9-22 overall record and a 4-10 record in conference play. Liberty finishes the regular season at 22-7 overall and 12-2 in the Big South, earning the No. 1 seed in next week's 2012 Big South Volleyball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting.
GWU's Carolina Solano, Erin Anderson and Tyler Cockrell all recorded a team-high eight kills, while setter Heather Feldman registered a match-high 31 assists. Seniors Dominique Bray and Molly Rhyne posted three and two service aces, respectively, in the match, while libero Anna Pashkova totaled 14 digs in the loss.
Carolina Douglas and Lillie Happel, who posted 13 and 10 kills apiece, led Liberty, while Gabrielle Shipe and Becca Haraf each turned in double digit digs with 16 and 14, respectively.
In a must win scenario, Gardner-Webb took a 3-1 lead to start the match on two Anderson kills, only to see the Lady Flames battle back to take the lead at 5-4 on a kill by Douglas.
Each team traded the lead over the next several rallies, as a kill by junior middle blocker Amanda Murphy put the Runnin' Bulldogs on top at 12-11.
However, that would be the last lead of the set for Gardner-Webb, as Liberty answered with a 6-1 run to pull out in front by four at 17-13.
Three straight kills from Solano, Rhyne and Cockrell put the Runnin' Bulldogs in striking distance of Liberty at 17-16, yet the Lady Flames proved why they were the regular season conference champions by finishing the opening set out with an 8-5 advantage to remain in front en route to a 25-21 first set win.
Not deterred by the first set loss, Gardner-Webb ran out to a 4-1 lead on a Solano kill to start the second set.
Yet just like in the first set, Liberty battled back early in the frame to tie the set up at 5-5 on a GWU attack error.
However, this time the Runnin' Bulldogs refused to go down without a fight, answering with seven straight points to take its largest lead of the match at 12-5 on a Rhyne service ace.
The Lady Flames continued to inch its way back into the set with two and three point bursts over the next several rallies, as two straight Gardner-Webb errors and a Kendle Rollins' kill tied the set up at 18-18.
Out of a Gardner-Webb timeout, GWU retook the lead at 19-18 on a kill by Rhyne, yet could not slow down the Lady Flames' momentum, as Liberty used a 7-1 run to finish the set out and earn the 25-20 second set victory.
For the third straight set, Gardner-Webb got on the scoreboard first, yet saw the Lady Flames use another series of runs to take an 8-3 lead on a Haraf service ace.
Kills by Anderson, Rhyne and Cockrell put the score at 9-6 in favor of Liberty, however, three straight GWU attack errors helped push the Lady Flames back out in front by six at 12-6 and then again at 13-7.
After a 5-0 run by the Lady Flames put the home team in front by 10 at 20-10, Gardner-Webb refused to quit and responded with a 7-1 run of its own, capped off by a kill by Cockrell, to cut the Liberty lead to four at 21-17.
GWU would not get any closer for the remainder of the set, as the Runnin' Bulldogs fought off three straight set points, yet saw an attack error end the set at 25-20 in favor of the Liberty Lady Flames.
Gardner-Webb finished the season with five straight losses and struggled as the season wound down, winning two of its final 11 matches after winning three out of four contests to finish the month of September.
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| Box Score: Liberty 3, GWU 0 |
