Gardner-Webb Drops Saturday Match Versus Liberty, 3-0, in Home Finale
November 17, 2013 | Volleyball
Boiling Springs, N.C. - Senior Erin Anderson tied for the match-high with 12 kills and teammate Anna Pashkova led the way with 18 digs, but Liberty posted a 25% success rate offensively to lead the way to a 3-0 sweep of the Runnin' Bulldogs, winning 25-17, 25-21, 25-19 Saturday night in Paul Porter Arena.
Liberty got 12 kills from outside hitter Caroline Douglas to pace a 40-kill effort offensively. GWU finished the match with 36 kills to go along with a 13% kill percentage on the night.
A kill from Douglas capped a 5-1 run to open the first set for Liberty (10-17, 9-5 BSC). Sparked by a kill from Emily Holte off an assist from Heather Feldman, Gardner-Webb (15-17, 6-8 BSC) responded by pulling within 7-6 in set one after a set error for the Flames awarded the Runnin' Bulldogs a point.
Back-and-forth scoring kept the match tight until a momentum-turning 8-3 Liberty run, capped by a Douglas kill, gave the visitors the first set lead at 19-12. Setter Jade Craycraft converted on a crafty kill to push the Flames' lead to 23-15 later in the set, and after a kill by Anderson off Feldman's assist, Liberty scored three straight to close out the set at 25-17.
Anderson and Feldman hooked up for a kill to give GWU a 1-0 lead in set two, but a quick 5-1 spurt by the Flames that included kills by Nzea McQuitery and Craycraft as well as three Runnin' Bulldog errors led to a GWU timeout and a 5-2 Liberty lead.
Liberty went on another run to push the lead to 9-4 when Craycraft found Melissa Racz on a well-timed set. However it was the Runnin' Bulldogs who seized momentum after an Anderson kill and three straight Liberty errors led to a Liberty timeout with the second set score standing at 9-8 in favor of Liberty.
Back-to-back kills by Anderson, followed by one from fellow senior Amanda Murphy, all off assists from Feldman, gave GWU its first lead at 11-10, and Gardner-Webb pushed the lead to 16-14 off a kill by Holte for what would be its largest lead of the day.
Brianna Starr gave GWU another lead at 18-17 when she took a set from Feldman to record the kill, one of five for her on the day. With the momentum in the balance, Liberty raced off to a 7-1 run to gain a 24-19 advantage.
Taylor Lillard kept GWU's hopes for a set two triumph with her first kill of the match, and an attack error by Liberty tightened the score at 24-21, but Racz stepped up for the unassisted kill to close out a 25-21 set two win for the Flames.
To open set three, Emily Steele gave Gardner-Webb a 1-0 lead with a serve ace, one of six on the day for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Liberty followed with kills by Craycraft (assist from Lillie Happel) and McQuitery, and GWU's Tyra Montour spiked home an assist from Feldman go move the score to 2-2 early in set three.
After Gardner-Webb earned a 6-5 lead in set three off a kill from Holte (Feldman assist), Liberty went on a 5-1 run capped by a kill from Happel that led to a GWU timeout with the scoreboard reading 10-7 in favor of the visitors.
GWU clawed its way back into a tie at 13-13 after an ace from Starr and a thunderous kill by Montour off a well-placed set from Feldman. The two teams stayed within two points of each other until a crucial 3-1 push by Liberty gave the visitors a 22-18 advantage late in the third set.
The Flames would win four of the final five points, culminated by a block from the combo of Craycraft and Kendle Rollins, to earn the visitors from Lynchburg, Va. a 3-0 Big South win.
Gardner-Webb will turn its attention to Big South tournament play. The 2013 Big South Volleyball Championships are held November 21-24 in Clinton, S.C. Stay tuned to gwusports.com for updated tournament seeding information.
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