GWU Volleyball Protects Home Court with 3-1 Win over Upstate
September 26, 2012 | Volleyball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team got a career-high 23 digs from freshman libero Anna Pashkova and a match-high 17 kills from junior middle blocker Tyler Cockrell to defeat the USC Upstate Spartans 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 17-25, 25-16) on Tuesday night in Paul Porter Arena.
The win pushes GWU to 6-12 overall, while the loss drops Upstate to 4-9 on the year.
Behind Cockrell's 17 kills and a .536 attack percentage, junior Emily Holte contributed with 10 kills, on a .409 attack percentage, while senior Carolina Solano and junior Erin Anderson added eight and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore setter Heather Feldman dished out 41 assists, registered six kills and tallied 11 digs, while also posting two service aces on the night.
For Upstate, Kayla Eversgerd led the way with a team-high 13 kills, 15 digs and three aces, while setter Emily Sanders had 24 assists to lead the Spartans.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fell behind early in the first, 4-1, as Upstate recorded a service ace by Eversgerd. However, the home team answered with a 9-5 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Solano and Holte, to take a 10-9 lead.
After a Solano service ace pushed the GWU lead to two at 11-9, the two teams went back and forth over the next several possessions with GWU hanging on to a slight lead at 20-17. However, three straight points by the Spartans, highlighted by kills from Kayla McAvoy and Shannon Weiss, knotted the set up once more at 20-20.
Back-to-back kills from Cockrell and Solano got the Runnin' Bulldogs back in front at 22-20, as GWU did not look back en route of the 25-23 first set win.
The second set would see two ties and one lead change early, before the Runnin' Bulldogs used a 9-4 run over the Spartans, to take an 11-6 lead on a service ace by Cockrell.
The Spartans would cut the lead to two at 13-11 on a kill by Weiss, yet Gardner-Webb refused to relinquish the lead, using a 4-0 run to pull away once more on its way to a 25-17 second set victory.
The third set belonged to the Spartans, as Upstate jumped out to a 7-1 lead on back-to-back aces by Eversgerd.
GWU made a short rally to cut the Upstate lead to three at 10-7, however, three straight errors by the Runnin' Bulldogs fueled the Spartans' lead, pushing Upstate out to a 14-7 advantage.
The lead was too much for GWU to overcome in the third set, as Upstate held on for the 25-17 set win to force a fourth set.
After such a slow start in the third set, Gardner-Webb and head coach Leo Sayles were determined to start the fourth frame on track, as the home team ran out to a 12-3 lead on two straight kills from Anderson and Cockrell.
GWU refused to quit and looked to put the match away, as errors by the Spartans, coupled with a kill and an ace from Solano, pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs' lead out to eight at 17-9.
Upstate would get to as close as six points in the set, however, GWU finished the game out with a kill from Feldman and two kills from Cockrell to earn the 25-16 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
For the match, the Runnin' Bulldogs hit .271 as a team, while also recording six service aces and six total blocks overall.
Gardner-Webb, who has won three straight at home in Paul Porter Arena, will look to continue its current two-match winning streak this weekend, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will host Liberty at 7 p.m. on Friday night and Radford at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
The volleyball team is hosting a "Red Wave" on Friday night and encourages all fans to wear red to the match, while on Saturday afternoon, GWU is looking to "Black Out" Paul Porter Arena and are asking fans to wear black in support of their Runnin' Bulldogs.
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| Box Score: GWU 3, USC Upstate 1 |
