Anderson's Career Night Leads the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 3-1 Road Win at Charleston Southern
October 25, 2013 | Volleyball
Charleston, S.C. - Gardner-Webb senior outside hitter Erin Anderson smashed a career-high 23 kills to lead the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 3-1 road win over the Lady Buccaneers of Charleston Southern on Thursday night in the Buc Dome in Charleston, S.C.
Gardner-Webb defeated the Lady Bucs 17-25, 25-15, 25-19 and 25-22 to improve to 14-11 overall and 5-2 in Big South Conference play. Charleston Southern fell to 5-18 overall and 0-8 in League play with the loss.
The win pushes GWU's overall win total to 14 on the season, which matches its highest win total for a single season in its NCAA Division I history. The five conference wins also matches the Runnin' Bulldogs season-high for the most conference wins in a single season in GWU's DI history.
""It was great to see our players respond to a tough first set and find their focus. CSU is competitive and was very efficient offensively. They had a great crowd that was very supportive," commented head coach Leo Sayles. "Erin (Anderson) had a career night tonight and Heather (Feldman) kept our offense running. It is great to get a win on the road. Now we will refocus and try to get another one tomorrow."
Behind Anderson's 23 kills, fellow outside hitter Brianna Starr chipped in with 14 kills and 10 digs, while Tyra Montour had eight kills and posted a .667 attack percentage for the match. Setter Heather Feldman dished out 46 set assists, posted 13 digs and added three kills, while libero Anna Pashkova surpassed the 500 mark in digs on the season with 20 on the night.
The Lady Bucs had four players in double digit kills in Erin Lavenice (15), Siraya Windsor (13), Meredith Parrott (10) and Katrina Houston (10), while setter Cassidy Greer totaled 47 assists in the loss.
Gardner-Webb got off to a slow start to open the match, as the home team took a 3-0 lead on a Greer kill and then pushed its lead out to five at 16-11 on a Windsor service ace.
The Runnin' Bulldogs continued to keep the set close, yet were unable to put together a run of more than three points in a row as the Lady Bucs refused to give up the lead.
Charleston Southern was able to extend its lead out to five on a number of occasions in the opening set and after an Anderson kill put GWU down just two at 19-17, the Lady Bucs finished the frame out on a 6-0 run to hold on for the 25-17 first set win.
The loss only seemed to light a fire under the Runnin' Bulldogs, as Gardner-Webb stormed out to an 10-3 lead on back-to-back kills from Anderson and Amanda Murphy to start the second set.
Charleston Southern attempted to fight its way back into the game, cutting the lead to five three times at 13-8, 14-9 and 15-10, however, Gardner-Webb finished the set out strong to take a 25-15 win on an Anderson kill and tie the match score up at 1-1.
With both teams leading from start to finish in each of the first two sets, the third set was close from start to finish, as Charleston Southern took an early 10-5 lead on a Houston spike.
Gardner-Webb responded with a 6-2 run to cut the Lady Bucs lead to a single point at 12-11 on yet another Anderson kill, however, three straight points by CSU put the score at 15-11 and forced a GWU timeout.
The timeout proved to be huge for GWU, as the Runnin' Bulldogs came out of the break with back-to-back kills from Feldman and Montour and later saw kills from Anderson and Starr give the visitors its first lead of the set at 19-18.
Following a Feldman service ace and a CSU kill by Parrott, GWU finished the set out with a 5-0 run to take the 25-19 third set win and a 2-1 match lead.
Both teams refused to quit in the fourth set, as Charleston Southern took a 1-0 lead and then saw Gardner-Webb take its first lead of the frame at 3-2 on a Starr ace.
The back-and-forth set continued over the next several rallies, until a kill by senior Emily Holte gave Gardner-Webb the lead at 7-6.
GWU continued to ward off the Lady Bucs for most of the set, staying out in front of the Lady Bucs until a kill by Parrott and a GWU error tied the set up at 14-14.
Charleston Southern would tie the game up once more at 15-15, yet, Gardner-Webb never lost the lead down the stretch, as a 4-0 run allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs a little breathing room at 19-15.
The Lady Bucs then used a 6-4 run to cut the Gardner-Webb lead to two at 23-21, only to see the Runnin' Bulldogs put the set away with two kills from Anderson to take the 25-22 set win and the 3-1 match victory.
As a team, GWU posted an attack percentage of .336 overall on the night.
Gardner-Webb (14-11, 5-2 Big South) will return to action tomorrow night, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will take on Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. in The HTC Center in Conway, S.C.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 3, Charleston Southern 1 |
