BOILING SPRINGS --- Tyler Cockrell (Tulsa, Okla.) tallied nine kills and Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) recorded 12 digs as Radford swept Gardner-Webb in Big South Conference action on Saturday evening in Paul Porter Arena.
Radford (12-6, 2-1 Big South) won the match by scores of 25-6, 25-19 and 25-16, hitting .323 in the contest as a team while limiting Gardner-Webb (8-13, 1-2 Big South) to a .023 clip on the attack. The Highlanders recorded 46 digs, seven aces and five blocks in the match as Gardner-Webb tallied five blocks and 35 digs.
Cockrell led the way for Gardner-Webb with nine kills, four blocks and a .421 hitting percentage, as Heather Feldman (Eden, N.Y.) Sophia Esposito (Coraopolis, Pa.) and Brianna Starr (Blue Springs, Mo.) each added three smashes. Feldman dished out 17 assists as Pashkova and Starr chipped in 12 and eight digs, respectively.
Megan Short paced the Highlanders with a match-high 12 kills, attacking at a .450 clip as Maddie Palmer and Emma Deininger added 11 and nine smashes, respectively. Jena Braden recorded a contest-best 35 assists to go along with eight digs, while Kelby Jackson posted a match-high 13 digs. Kaylor Nash led all servers with three aces.
Radford stormed out of the gate in the first set, scoring 11 of the match's first 12 points to take an 11-1 lead on a kill by Short. The Highlanders would stretch the advantage to 18-3 with a 7-2 spurt, before closing the set with seven of the final nine points to take a 1-0 lead in the match on a Rachel Wiechecki kill.
The Highlanders carried the momentum into the second, opening the frame with a 4-1 spurt before answering back-to-back Runnin' Bulldog points with four of their own to claim an 8-3 advantage. After Radford pushed the margin to 13-5 with a 5-2 spurt, Gardner-Webb countered with an 8-3 run of its own, cutting the lead to 16-13 with an emphatic kill by Cockrell.
Radford would quickly respond with five straight points, widening the gap to 21-13 on a Short smash before pushing the Runnin' Bulldogs to set point at 24-15. Gardner-Webb refused to go down quietly, fighting off four set points to cut the lead to 24-19 on a tandem block by Starr and Cockrell and force a Radford timeout.
The Highlanders would close out the set on the next point, taking a 2-0 lead in the match on a GWU miscue.
Radford continued to dictate the tempo in the third, opening the set with an 11-3 run before stretching the advantage to 15-4 on a solo stuff by Deininger. After the Highlanders pushed the margin to 20-9 on a Short kill, Gardner-Webb fought back with a 7-2 run, closing the gap to 22-16 following a block by Feldman and Sydney Marshall (Norcross, Ga.) and an Esposito kill.
The Highlanders would regain control moments later, answering with three straight points to close out the set and match on a kill by Wiechecki.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Friday, October 10 when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Clinton, S.C. to take on Presbyterian in Big South play at 7:00 pm.
