BOILING SPRINGS --- Senior Tyler Cockrell (Tulsa, Okla.) tallied nine kills and two blocks, and fellow senior Heather Feldman (Eden, N.Y.) added a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs in their final home match in Paul Porter Arena as Presbyterian held on to defeat Gardner-Webb in straight sets in Big South Conference play Saturday.
Presbyterian (12-14, 7-6 Big South) won the match by scores of 25-9, 27-25 and 25-21, attacking at a .345 clip in the contest while holding Gardner-Webb (12-18, 5-7 Big South) to a hitting percentage of .177. The Blue Hose recorded 48 kills and 56 digs on the afternoon, as Gardner-Webb countered with 34 and 55 while Presbyterian held an 8-5 edge in service aces.
Brianna Starr (Blue Springs, Mo.) led the way for Gardner-Webb with a double-double, posting 11 kills and 10 digs while Cockrell and Tyra Montour (Kennsaw, Ga.) added nine and seven smashes, respectively. Feldman chipped in a double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs as Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) tallied 17 digs and two aces. Montour also recorded two aces and two blocks in the match.
Kelly Berryman paced the Blue Hose with a match-high 13 kills, attacking at a. 357 while adding two blocks. Ashton Stewart and Rachell Hall chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively, with both players hitting over .400 in the match. Ashtin Frank dished out a match-high 37 assists as Mary Trimpe posted contest-bests of 22 digs and five aces.
Presbyterian came out strong in the first set, opening the frame with an 8-4 run before pushing the margin to 16-5 on a smash by Rachel Elshoff. The Blue Hose would close out the set from there, capping the frame with a 9-3 spurt to take a 1-0 lead in the match on an ace from Trimpe.
Gardner-Webb fought back in the second, erasing a 9-6 deficit with four straight points to take its first lead of the set at 10-9 following a smash from Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.). After Presbyterian countered with three of the next four points, the Runnin' Bulldogs answered with a 6-1 run of their own, claiming a 17-13 advance with an ace from Kacy O'Connor (Southport, N.C.).
Presbyterian quickly responded with a 7-3 spurt, evening the score at 20-20 on a Berryman kill before pushing Gardner-Webb to set point following a Stewart smash. The Runnin' Bulldogs would counter with back-to-back points, pushing the Blue Hose to set point at 25-24 following an emphatic stuff block by Cockrell and Montour.
The Blue Hose rose to the challenge, tallying three straight points on a smash by Elshoff and two from Berryman to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 27-25 victory.
Presbyterian carried the momentum into the third, opening the set with a 7-4 run before Gardner-Webb responded with a 6-3 spurt to even the tally at 10-10 on a smash by Starr. After the Runnin' Bulldogs opened a 14-11 lead on another Starr putdown, Presbyterian answered with an 8-5 spurt, knotting the score at 19-19 with a block by Frank and Berryman. Both teams kept fighting to the end, with the Blue Hose gaining the upper hand with a 5-1 run to close out the set and the match following back-to-back kills from Berryman.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Friday, November 14 when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Radford, Va. to take on Radford in a pivotal Big South clash at 7:00 pm.
