CHARLESTON, S.C. --- Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) recorded a match-high 17 kills and Jene Lee (San Dimas, Calif.) added 12 smashes and five blocks as Gardner-Webb's fourth-set rally fell just short in a 3-1 setback to Charleston Southern in Big South Conference play on Saturday evening.
Charleston Southern (7-19, 2-7 Big South) won the match by scores of 25-20, 25-19, 14-25 and 25-22, attacking at a .205 clip in a defensive battle as Gardner-Webb (9-16, 3-5 Big South) compiled a .192 hitting percentage.
Montour paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with a match-high 17 kills, as Lee added 12 smashes and a .478 hitting percentage. Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) and Devin Judge (Marietta, Ga.) each chipped in eight kills, while Justine Bowers (Dana Point, Calif.) established two new career-highs with 45 assists and 18 digs.
Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) continued her climb up the Big South's all-time digs list, accumulating 28 digs to vault into fourth with 2,193 in her career. The senior libero is now 73 digs shy of tying Presbyterian all-time great Mary Trimpe's mark of 2,266. Katie Loftin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) tallied 12 digs of her own while Bowers dropped in three service aces.
Katrina Houston led the way for Charleston Southern with 15 kills as Meredith Parrott and Kylie Klein each added 12 smashes. Ashley Higginbothem paced five Buccaneers in double-figure digs with a match-high 33, while Addison Kaderli chipped in 18 to go along with seven kills. Cassidy Greer posted a double-double with 42 assists and 11 digs.
Charleston Southern got off to a strong start in the opening set, scoring the match's first six points before pushing the margin to 15-5 with an 8-2 run. The Runnin' Bulldogs would fight back, closing the gap to 22-14 on a smash from Montour and trimming the margin further to 23-18 following a Judge kill.
The Buccaneers regained control moments later, pushing the Runnin' Bulldogs to set point with a Klein smash and after back-to-back points fell for Gardner-Webb, finished off the frame with another kill from Klein to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Charleston Southern carried the momentum into the second, starting off the set with a 16-7 run before Gardner-Webb answered with a 6-2 spurt to close the gap to 18-13. The Runnin' Bulldogs stayed within striking distance for the remainder of the frame, trimming the margin to 22-18 with a Bowers ace before Charleston Southern scored three of the set's final four points to claim a 2-0 advantage in the contest.
Gardner-Webb stormed out of the break with a 12-6 run to open the third frame, capping the spurt with a Loftin ace. Charleston Southern quickly countered with five of the next six points to close the gap to 13-11 on a Houston smash.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would answer with an 11-1 run – including 10 straight points – to push Charleston Southern to set point at 24-12 following an ace from Kacy O'Connor (Southport, N.C.). The Bucs fought off a pair of set points before Gardner-Webb capped the set with a Lee smash to extend the match to four frames.
Gardner-Webb carried the momentum into the fourth, opening the set with an 8-5 run that was capped by a Montour smash. Charleston Southern would answer with a 12-5 spurt of its own, taking a 17-13 advantage following a block by Parrott and Kaderli and a solo stuff by Greer.
The Runnin' Bulldogs kept fighting, battling back with another 8-5 run to close the gap to 22-21 and force a Buccaneer timeout after Bowers dropped in her third ace of the night. After the teams traded kills from Lee and Parrott to put the tally at 23-22 in favor of Charleston Southern, Parrott put down back-to-back smashes to quell the rally and seal the victory for the Bucs.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Friday, October 30 when the Runnin' Bulldogs host Campbell in a pivotal Big South clash at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena.
