Runnin' Bulldogs Down the Highlanders, 3-2, in Five Sets for Second Straight Conference Win
October 05, 2013 | Volleyball
Radford, Va. - Coming off a 3-2 five set win over the Liberty Lady Flames less than 24 hours ago, the Runnin' Bulldogs turned around to post its second straight five set win on Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 win over the Radford Highlanders in the Dedmon Center in Radford, Va.
Gardner-Webb defeated Radford 23-25, 25-22, 12-25, 25-20, and 15-7 to post its second straight five set win and its third straight win overall.
GWU improves to 9-10 overall on the season and 2-1 in Big South play with the win, while Radford falls to 13-7 overall and 2-1 in conference action with the loss.
"I guess the girls felt they needed to prove that winning in five was not a fluke," stated head coach Leo Sayles. "It was a team effort. Our outsides had to play by committee as both Brianna (Starr) and Erin (Anderson) were both suffering physically, but Taylor (Lillard) was outstanding of the bench. Emily (Holte) played terrific in all six rotations and Anna (Pashkova) was stellar defensively. This was a gritty game, our passing was off, but we are proving that we can fight. Once again, it was a phenomenal effort today!"
GWU senior right side hitter Emily Holte, who had 16 kills, led a Runnin' Bulldog offensive attack that had four players post double digit kills in Taylor Lillard (12), Tyra Montour (12), and Brianna Starr (10). Starr added 12 digs to record a double-double, while setter Heather Feldman had a double-double of her own with 43 assists and 13 digs.
Runnin' Bulldog libero Anna Pashkova recorded 27 digs, a team-high, while Montour had three total blocks at the net in the win for GWU.
Radford's Rachel Wiechecki registered a match-high 21 kills, along with 20 digs, while Emma Deininger and Jordan Watson chipped in with 14 and 11 kills apiece, respectively.
The Highlanders had five players record double digit digs, while Carson Widener accounted for three of the home team's seven service aces.
As has been accustomed to GWU volleyball this season, the Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a slow start in the match, falling behind to Radford 5-1 on back-to-back Wiechecki kills to start the opening set.
Out of a GWU timeout, the visiting Runnin' Bulldogs slowly climbed its way back into the set, outscoring Radford 12-8 over the next 20 rallies to tie the frame up at 13-13 on a kill from Montour.
Gardner-Webb tied the set up once more at 14-14 on a Radford error, yet could not wrestle away the lead from the Highlanders until a kill from Lillard capped off a 4-0 run to push the Runnin' Bulldogs out in front by one at 19-18 and force a Radford timeout.
However, three of the next four points would go in favor of the home team, who took a 21-20 lead on a Widener service ace to cause GWU to call its second and final timeout of the first set.
GWU tied the score up at 21-21 and took the lead once more at 22-21 on back-to-back spikes from Starr; however, the Highlanders finished the set off on a 4-1 run to escape with the 25-23 first set win on another Wiechecki kill.
A Radford set error, an Erin Anderson ace and a kill from fellow senior Amanda Murphy allowed GWU to take a 3-0 lead to start the second set, yet the Highlanders crept back into the game with a 6-3 run to tie the score up at 6-6 on a Watson kill.
A Montour kill put GWU back in front by one at 7-6 as the Runnin' Bulldogs held on to a slight lead over the next several possessions.
However, seven Runnin' Bulldog errors over the next several rallies allowed the home team to erase the GWU lead and take a 17-13 lead midway through the set.
Refusing to quit, Gardner-Webb got kills from Montour, Feldman and Lillard, as well as a service ace from Feldman, to tie the score up at 19-19 on a kill from Holte.
Lillard then recorded two straight spikes top push GWU's lead to two at 21-19, as the Runnin' Bulldogs looked poised to take the second set.
GWU never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the set by answering every Radford point with a score of its own en route to a 25-22 second set win.
The Runnin' Bulldogs struggled with consistency in the third set, as GWU took a 6-5 lead on a kill from Montour early in the game.
Yet that would be the last lead that GWU would have for the frame, as Radford picked up a kill from Wiechecki to tie the match up at 6-6, which jump started a 9-2 run by the home team who ran out to a 15-8 lead on a kill by Deininger.
After a GWU timeout, the Runnin' Bulldogs got a kill from Lillard, but were unable to slow down the Radford Highlanders who finished the set out on a 10-3 run to pull away for the 25-12 third set win.
Down 2-1 in the match, GWU was down to its last life and played like it, taking a 6-0 lead on a Katie Loftin service ace to start the fourth set.
Gardner-Webb never looked back, as Radford cut the lead to four at 12-8, only to see the visitors respond with a kill from Holte to push its lead back out to five at 14-9.
Radford used back-to-back kills from Deininger to cap off a 9-4 and tie the set up at 18-18, however, the Runnin' Bulldogs again refused to let go of the lead, as Holte and Lillard answered with two straight kills to push GWU back in front by two at 20-18.
The back-to-back kills gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a huge lift, as GWU then outscored Radford 5-1 to finish out the set and take a 25-20 fourth set win to send the match into the fifth and decisive set.
GWU never trailed in the decisive set, as Radford tied the set up at 1-1 on a Wiechecki kill and then again at 2-2 on a Cheyanne James kill, only to see Gardner-Webb answer both times with a kill of its own from Montour and Anderson.
With the score at 3-2 in favor of GWU, Holte tallied four kills over the next six plays to push the home team to a four point lead at 8-4 and force a Radford timeout.
The four points was as close as the Highlanders would get for the rest of the set, as GWU took advantage of five Radford errors and kills from both Montour and Lillard to double up the Highlanders and take a 15-7 fifth set win.
Radford recorded nine blocks to Gardner-Webb's six for the match; however, the Runnin' Bulldogs had nine service aces as a team, two more than the Highlanders on the afternoon.
Gardner-Webb (9-10, 2-1 Big South) will return home to host the Davidson Wildcats on Tuesday night, October 8th, at 8 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena. Radford (13-7, 2-1 Big South) will hit the road to take on the High Point Panthers on Friday night, October 11th, at 7 p.m. in High Point, N.C.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 3, Radford 2 |
