LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) tallied 11 kills and a .435 hitting percentage, while Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) moved to within 20 digs of the program's all-time digs record, as Liberty held off Gardner-Webb en route to a 3-1 victory in Big South Conference play on Friday evening.
"We certainly had our struggles early," said head coach Leo Sayles. "Our hitting was off in sets one and two. As we talked over break, I just tried to reassure the team that we needed to find the connections and play with some fight. We were much more focused later in the match but Liberty's service runs haunted us late and we could not slow their middles down. I am encouraged that we seem to be piecing together better runs. We must find the fight to finish tomorrow."
Liberty (6-8, 2-0 Big South) won the match by scores of 25-16, 25-15, 18-25 and 25-19, posting 59 kills and attacking at a .255 clip while holding Gardner-Webb (4-13, 0-2 Big South) to 40 kills and a .124 hitting percentage. The Runnin' Bulldogs recorded seven blocks to the Flames' six, as Liberty accounted for 75 digs and seven aces.
Montour paced the Runnin' Bulldog attack with 11 kills and a .435 hitting percentage, connecting on 11-of-23 swings, as Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) and Taylor Lillard (Victorville, Calif.) each added seven smashes. Jene Lee (San Dimas, Calif.) chipped in five kills and four blocks, while Justine Bowers (Dana Point, Calif.) tallied 21 assists and two aces.
Pashkova accounted for a match-high 20 digs to move a few steps closer to history, now needing just 17 digs to tie Linette Ramseur for the program's all-time record of 2,053.
Jade Vorster provided much of the offense for Liberty, recording a match-high 19 kills while hitting .571 and adding four blocks. Her sister, Sirena Vorster, accounted for 10 kills and a .529 attacking clip, as Caroline Douglas and Hannah Weidner each tallied nine smashes. Anna Willey dished out 48 assists and chipped in 13 digs, while Margaret Latchford equaled Pashkova's match-high of 20 digs.
Gardner-Webb jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first set before Liberty responded, sprinting to a 17-7 advantage with a Sirena Vorster kill that capped a 15-2 surge.
After the Flames pushed the margin to 22-10, Gardner-Webb countered with five straight points to close the gap to 22-15 following a solo block by Dyson. Liberty quickly answered with three of the next four points, claiming the set and a 1-0 lead in the match with a Douglas smash.
The Runnin' Bulldog would fight back midway through the second frame, taking a 10-7 lead on a block by Montour and Lee to cap a 6-1 spurt. Liberty countered with a 7-2 run, reclaiming the advantage at 14-12 following a Jade Vorster smash.
Liberty broke a 14-14 tie moments later, scoring 10 straight points to push Gardner-Webb to set point before taking a 2-0 lead in the match on a kill from Gabrielle Vess.
Gardner-Webb answered with a 6-1 run to open the third set before taking a 13-8 lead on a smash by Montour. The Runnin' Bulldogs would push the advantage to 20-14 following an ace from Tinsley Fain (Boiling Springs, S.C.), and after Liberty trimmed the margin to 23-18, closed out the set on back-to-back kills from Montour.
The two teams battled throughout the early moments of the fourth set, with Gardner-Webb taking a narrow 10-9 advantage on a kill by Sydney Marshall to cap a 5-2 spurt. Liberty would answer with an 11-3 surge, opening a 20-13 lead following a smash from Haley Jeffcoat.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back once again, closing the gap to 22-17 with a Montour smash. A Liberty service error and a solo block by Lee would keep Gardner-Webb alive on back-to-back match points, before the Flames stopped the bleeding and sealed the win with a Douglas smash.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Saturday at 4:00 pm when the Runnin' Bulldogs take on Radford in Big South action in Radford, Va.
