SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) tallied a match-high 13 kills, as Tyler Cockrell (Tulsa, Okla.) hit an even .500 and Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) recorded 26 digs to lead Gardner-Webb to its third straight victory in a sweep of USC Upstate on Friday afternoon at the Spartanburg Courtyard Classic, hosted by Wofford College.
Gardner-Webb (4-9) won the match by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-18, holding USC Upstate (6-5) to a .090 clip on the attack while posting a .170 hitting percentage of its own. The teams combined for 279 attack attempts, 156 digs and 14 blocks in the contest, as Gardner-Webb registered nine blocks to the Spartans' five.
Montour paced the Runnin' Bulldog attack with 13 kills and five blocks, while Cockrell added 12 smashes of her own to go along with an even .500 hitting percentage. Brianna Starr (Blue Springs, Mo.) chipped in seven kills and 13 digs, as Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) tallied four blocks.
Heather Feldman (Eden, N.Y.) recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 13 digs, as Pashkova and Katie Loftin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) totaled 26 and 13 digs, respectively.
Kayla Eversgerd led the way for Upstate with a double-double, tallying 12 kills and 14 digs, while Shannon Weiss added 14 digs and nine smashes. Kaleigh Kelley and Lexi Gober recorded 22 and 12 digs, respectively, as Gober chipped in a match-high 32 assists to notch a double-double.
The Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a blistering start in the first set, jumping out to an 11-3 lead with a tandem block by Starr and Cockrell before Upstate responded with a 7-3 run, trimming the margin to 14-10. After Gardner-Webb pushed the advantage to 19-13 with a block by Dyson and Taylor Lillard (Victorville, Calif.), Upstate responded with a 5-0 spurt of its own, cutting the lead to 19-18 on a GWU miscue.
The teams would trade 3-0 runs before Gardner-Webb regained control, pushing the Spartans to set point at 24-22 on a Cockrell kill before Montour finished the frame with a smash.
Upstate fought back early in the second, opening the frame with a 9-5 run before Gardner-Webb answered with an 8-2 spurt to take a 13-11 lead on a Dyson kill. The Spartans would counter with another 9-5 stretch, reclaiming the advantage at 20-18 following a smash by Dominique Arnold.
Gardner-Webb quickly responded with a 7-3 spurt, rallying for a 25-23 victory in the set on a Montour smash to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Runnin' Bulldogs battled back from an early deficit once again in the third, countering an early 4-1 spurt by Upstate with a 12-5 run of their own to take a 13-9 lead on a Cockrell ace.
The Spartans would close the gap to 15-14 with a tandem block by Weiss and Emily Koelling before Gardner-Webb responded, widening the gap to 21-17 with a Montour smash to cap a 6-3 spurt. The Runnin' Bulldogs closed out the set from there, answering an Arnold kill with four straight points to finish the frame and the match with a smash from Lillard.
Gardner-Webb is back in action for two matches on Saturday, hosting Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena before returning to Spartanburg, S.C. that evening to take on Wofford at 8 p.m. on the second day of the Spartanburg Courtyard Classic.
