GWU Volleyball Records 3-2 Come From Behind Win Over Liberty on Friday Night in Big South Play
October 05, 2013 | Volleyball
Lynchburg, Va. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team erased a 2-0 match deficit with three straight wins over the final three sets to pick up at 3-2 come from behind win over the Liberty Lady Flames in Big South Conference volleyball action on Friday night in Lynchburg, Va.
GWU defeated Liberty 12-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-20 and 18-16 to earn the 3-2 conference win.
Gardner-Webb improves to 8-10 overall and 1-1 in Big South Conference play with the win, while the Lady Flames of Liberty fall to 1-14 overall and 0-2 in League play with the loss.
The win also puts GWU at 2-14 overall versus the Liberty Lady Flames in volleyball action, while the 3-2 win is the Runnin' Bulldogs' first five set victory since defeating Wofford 3-2 back on September 10th in 2010, snapping a 15-match losing streak in five set matches.
"This was an incredible win for us. I am so proud of the entire team as every person stepped up and fought," head coach Leo Sayles commented. "This was definitely a team victory and shakes off so many ghosts. It would be difficult to pick out any one player; so many people stepped up at critical moments. To bounce back after the first game, then to fight back from 4-1 in the fifth and to fight off match point, this team is starting to believe in themselves and what they can do. We will enjoy this victory then prepare for tomorrow."
Senior Erin Anderson led the way for GWU with match-18 kills, none of which were more important than her final two kills which ended the fifth set and the match with the Runnin' Bulldogs on top. Freshman Brianna Starr and senior Emily Holte both tallied 13 kills apiece, while senior Amanda Murphy and sophomore Tyra Montour both posted three total blocks on the night.
Libero Anna Pashkova recorded a match-high 23 digs, while setter Heather Feldman tallied 49 set assists and 17 digs in the 3-2 victory.
For Liberty, Lillie Happel and Kendle Rollins both registered 16 kills apiece, while setter Jade Craycraft led the way with 38 set assists, to go along with her 10 kills and team-high 19 digs.
The Runnin' Bulldogs struggled out of the gates in the first set, as Liberty ran out to a 5-0 run on back-to-back GWU errors and then pushed its lead out to seven at 10-3 on a Gardner-Webb service error.
After Liberty followed with a service error of its own to put the score at 10-4, Gardner-Webb attempted to fight its way back into the first set, as a kill by Anderson cut the Liberty lead to six at 12-6.
However, the Lady Flames stayed out in front and used a 5-0 run, highlighted by three straight kills from Craycraft, to pull out to a double digit lead at 17-7.
GWU traded points over the next several rallies, however, the deficit proved to be too much, as the home team took advantage of a Runnin' Bulldog error for set point to record the 25-12 first set win.
The second set started out much like the first, as Liberty took an early lead at 4-1 on a GWU error.
Yet this time, the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to find some offensive rhythm, as GWU took advantage of four Liberty errors and picked up a kill from Holte to tie the match up at 8-8.
After GWU took the lead at 9-8 on a Liberty attack error, the Lady Flames scored the next two points and five of the next seven points to take a 13-10 lead on a Haley Jeffcoat kill and force a Gardner-Webb timeout.
The timeout proved to be vital for GWU as the Runnin' Bulldogs slowed down the Liberty momentum and went on a 5-2 run of its own, capped off by a Starr kill and a Feldman service ace, to retie the frame up at 15-15.
Looking to retake the lead, GWU committed a service error to let the home team move out in front by one at 16-15, a lead that the Lady Flames would not relinquish for the remainder of the set.
Liberty pushed its lead out to three at 19-16 and again at 20-17, both times on a Rollins' kill, before scoring the final three points to escape with the 25-20 second set win.
Down 2-0 and with their backs up against the wall, Gardner-Webb showed poise in taking a 3-1 lead on back-to-back kills from Starr and Anderson to start the third set.
The hot start appeared to give the visiting Runnin' Bulldogs some momentum, as after Liberty cut the GWU lead to one at 4-3, Gardner-Webb ran off six straight points and used a 10-4 run to storm out to an eight point lead at 14-6 on a kill from Montour.
Gardner-Webb refused to allow the Lady Flames back into the set, as a two straight kills from Anderson allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs to double up Liberty 18-9 and force a timeout by the home team.
After Liberty cut the GWU lead to five at 19-14 on a Craycraft service ace, the Runnin' Bulldogs regrouped to pick up kills from Anderson and Holte to finish out the set on a 6-4 run and take the 25-18 third set win.
With new life, Gardner-Webb looked to stay alive once more in the fourth set, as Holte led off the game with a kill and then later saw Anderson post two straight spikes to push the visiting team in front by four at 6-2.
However, Liberty would not back down, as the Lady Flames answered with a 7-3 run of its own to tie the set up at 9-9 on back-to-back kills from Craycraft.
The two teams would then trade points and the lead four more times over the next several rallies, until three straight GWU attack errors allowed Liberty to take a 19-16 lead as the set wound down.
Refusing to roll over and play dead, the Runnin' Bulldogs got three kills from Holte and a service ace from fellow senior Amanda Murphy to take a 21-20 set lead and force another Liberty timeout.
Despite the break, the GWU momentum could not be stopped, as another Murphy service followed by three straight Liberty errors pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs to the 25-20 fourth set win and tied the match up at 2-2.
The fifth set saw GWU's Starr and Liberty's Jeffcoat start the game out with back-to-back kills to put the score at 1-1, however, the Jeffcoat spike jump started a 4-0 run by the home team who took a 4-1 lead on three straight Runnin' Bulldog errors.
After a GWU timeout, Gardner-Webb got a kill from Taylor Lillard and back-to-back kills from Anderson and Feldman to cap off a 7-3 run and take an 8-7 lead.
The two teams traded the lead twice over the next several rallies, as back-to-back Liberty errors pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs in front by two at 12-10.
Yet the back-and-forth set continued as Liberty battled back to tie the frame up once more at 12-12 on a Becca Haraf service ace, only to see a Holte kill put GWU back in front by one at 13-12.
However, the two teams again continued to go point for point, as neither team would be able to pull away, as GWU took a 15-14 lead on a kill by Starr, a 16-15 lead on a spike from Montour, and a 17-16 advantage on an Anderson kill before Anderson put the set and match away with another kill to give GWU the 18-16 set win and the 3-2 come from behind match victory.
Gardner-Webb (8-10, 1-1 Big South) will return to action tomorrow afternoon, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will take on the Radford Highlanders at 4 p.m. in Radford, Va. Liberty (1-14, 0-2 Big South) will turnaround to host the UNC Asheville Bulldogs tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Vines Center.
###
| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 3, Liberty 2 |
