BOILING SPRINGS --- Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) tallied 15 kills, Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) recorded 11 blocks, and Gardner-Webb hit .305 as a team en route to a pair of straight set victories over North Carolina A&T and Savannah State on Sunday afternoon in Paul Porter Arena.
Gardner-Webb (7-10) defeated North Carolina A&T (0-16) by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-17 before sweeping Savannah State (3-10), 25-13, 25-9 and 25-11 in the final contest of the day.
"I'm very pleased with our efforts today," said head coach Leo Sayles. "This was a great way to finish a long but successful weekend. I was most pleased with the focus and intensity the girls maintained in sets they controlled early. They maintained a high level of play, and our reserves were able to step in and compete at the same level."
Match One: Gardner-Webb 3, North Carolina A&T 0
Gardner-Webb (6-10) won the match by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-17, hitting .250 in the contest while holding North Carolina A&T (0-16) to a .000 clip on the attack. The Runnin' Bulldogs tallied seven blocks and 40 digs in the match, limiting the Aggies to just 15 kills in three sets.
Cockrell paced the Runnin' Bulldog attack with nine kills on 11 swings, hitting .636 while adding five blocks. Lillard chipped in eight kills, as Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) and Brianna Starr (Blue Springs, Mo.) each tallied nine digs. Heather Feldman (Eden, N.Y.) dished out 30 assists in the match as Pashkova tallied a match-high six aces.
Aleena McDaniel and Jeana Daniels each posted five kills to lead the way for North Carolina A&T, as McDaniel also tallied a match-high 10 digs. Te'Borah Hawkins chipped in four blocks.
The Runnin' Bulldogs started strong, opening the frame with a 6-2 run before the Aggies countered, trimming the margin to 10-8 following a GWU miscue. Gardner-Webb quickly answered with a 12-5 surge, pushing the lead to 22-13 after an emphatic smash by Cockrell. Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) then capped the set with a kill to give the Runnin' Bulldogs an early 1-0 advantage.
Gardner-Webb carried the momentum into the second set, surging to an early 12-2 lead following a pair of aces from Pashkova. North Carolina A&T would counter with a 5-2 spurt, closing the gap to 14-7 before the Runnin' Bulldogs answered, stretching the margin to 21-10 following a Lillard smash.
The Aggies would fight off a trio of set points late in the frame before Gardner-Webb regained control, capping the set with a smash by Lillard to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Runnin' Bulldogs started off strong once again in the third, opening the frame with a 12-4 run before stretching the advantage to 18-9 following a kill by Sydney Marshall (Norcross, Ga.).
North Carolina A&T would whittle away over the next several minutes, trimming the margin to 20-15 with an ace from Samara Brown before Gardner-Webb answered, closing out the set and the match with a 5-2 spurt that was capped by a smash from Sophia Esposito (Coroapolis, Pa.).
Match Two: Gardner-Webb 3, Savannah State 0
Gardner-Webb won the match by scores of 25-13, 25-9 and 25-11, hitting .362 as a team while limiting Savannah State to a -0.082 clip on the attack. The Runnin' Bulldogs collected 36 kills, 11 blocks and five aces in the match and held the Tigers to 20 kills without being blocked.
Montour led the way with nine kills, eight digs and five blocks while tallying a match-high three aces. Feldman chipped in 21 assists and nine digs as Dyson recorded a contest-best seven blocks. Pashkova added nine digs while Emily Steele (Greenville, N.C.) and Lillard each posted five kills.
Justice Dilworth paced the Tigers with nine kills as Alexis Washington added a match-high 11 digs. Caitlynn Masoe dished out 10 assists for Savannah State.
The Runnin' Bulldogs started off strong, tallying the match's first six points before the Tigers responded, stringing together a 7-3 spurt to cut the lead to 9-7. Gardner-Webb quickly countered with a 12-4 surge, pushing the advantage to 21-11 following a pair of kills and an ace from Montour. The Runnin' Bulldogs would score four of the next six points to take a 1-0 lead on a Kacy O'Connor (Southport, N.C.) ace.
Gardner-Webb carried the momentum into the second, jumping out to an early 11-3 lead on a Pashkova bump kill before stretching the margin to 19-7 following a Dyson smash. The Runnin' Bulldogs would close out the set from there, taking a commanding 2-0 advantage in the match on a tandem block by Cockrell and Montour.
The third set proved to be a continuation of the first two, with Gardner-Webb opening the frame with a 10-2 spurt before widening the gap to 18-7 following a Cockrell smash. After Savannah State's Gabrielle Nathaniel stopped the spurt with a kill, the Runnin' Bulldogs answered with a 7-3 run, capping the set and the match with a Steele smash.
"We hope this will help us carry some momentum into our final preconference match at Western Carolina, and our conference home opener against UNC Asheville this Friday," continued Sayles. "Both matches have been highly competitive in the past and will require our best to come out victorious."
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Wednesday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Cullowhee, N.C. to take on Western Carolina at 7 p.m.
