CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- Brianna Starr (Blue Springs, Mo.) tallied 12 kills and a match-high three aces, as Western Carolina rallied from a late deficit in the second set en route to a sweep of Gardner-Webb on Wednesday evening.
Western Carolina (7-7) won the match by scores of 25-14, 26-24 and 25-20, hitting .274 and recording six blocks while holding Gardner-Webb (7-11) to a .138 clip on the attack.
Starr paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with 12 kills, nine digs, three aces and a .310 hitting percentage, while Heather Feldman (Eden, N.Y.) tallied 27 assists, eight digs and six smashes. Taylor Lillard (Victorville, Calif.) and Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) each added six kills as Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) and Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) chipped in 13 digs and four blocks, respectively.
Caitlin Piechota led the way for Western with 15 kills on 29 swings, attacking at a .448 clip while also posting 12 digs for a double-double. Jordan Zimmerman added 12 digs and eight kills, as Cristina Nazario and Jo-Leigh Vervelde each dished out 18 assists. Vervelde and Elyssa Mulheron both tallied 10 digs in the contest.
Western Carolina started off strong, opening the first set with a 9-5 run before extending the lead to 16-9 following a Katie O'Connor kill. After a Lillard smash trimmed the margin to 16-10, the Catamounts answered with a 9-4 spurt, taking a 1-0 advantage in the match on a kill from Zimmerman.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back in the second, countering an early 6-5 deficit with five straight points to take a 10-6 lead on a smash by Lillard. With Gardner-Webb leading 17-13, Western strung together a 5-1 run, evening the tally at 18-18 before claiming a 22-20 lead on a block by Piechota and Addy George.
Gardner-Webb would respond with a 4-1 spurt, pushing the Catamounts to set point on a Starr ace before Western Carolina countered, scoring three straight points to claim the frame with a Zimmerman smash to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Western carried the momentum into the third, opening the frame with a 10-4 run before Gardner-Webb answered, cutting the lead to 14-11 with a 7-4 spurt that was capped by a Montour smash.
After the Catamounts countered with a 6-4 stretch, Gardner-Webb responded with a 5-2 spurt of its own, trimming the margin to 23-20 following a Feldman kill and back-to-back aces from Starr. The Catamounts quickly responded, quelling the rally with back-to-back points to close out the win on a tandem block by George and Vervelde.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Friday, hosting UNC Asheville to open Big South Conference play at 7:00 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena.
