BOILING SPRINGS --- Sydney Marshall (Norcross, Ga.) tallied nine kills and a match-high nine blocks, as Campbell weathered a late fourth-set rally en route to a 3-1 Big South Conference victory over Gardner-Webb on Friday evening in Paul Porter Arena.
Campbell (10-13, 4-5 Big South) won the match by scores of 25-21, 21-25, 25-17 and 27-25, tallying 51 kills and attacking at a .179 clip while holding Gardner-Webb (9-17, 3-6 Big South) to 45 smashes and a .166 hitting percentage. The Camels posted 82 digs and 11 service aces compared to Gardner-Webb's totals of 74 and five.
"This was a night where we were hoping to see some players step up to the challenge," said head coach Leo Sayles. "Unfortunately, Campbell beat us at one important element of our game, serving/passing. It is hard to win when you allow a team 11 aces against you. Our offense was stagnant against a stubborn defense. Campbell had more spirit and fight in them than we could muster tonight and earned the win."
Taylor Lillard (Victorville, Calif.) led the way for Gardner-Webb with 10 kills, as Marshall and Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) added nine and eight, respectively. Marshall paced the blocking corps with a match-high nine stuffs, as Dyson tallied four and Justine Bowers (Dana Point, Calif.) and Jene Lee (San Dimas, Calif.) each chipped in three.
Bowers dished out 31 assists to go along with nine digs and six kills, as Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) posted a match-high 25 digs.
Jenny Tait and Katelyn Layden paced the Camels with 14 kills each, as Layden added 13 digs to account for a double-double. Mary Crema and Summer Schuitema chipped in 23 and 19 digs, respectively, while Rebecca Ramirez dished out 28 assists.
The teams would battle back and forth throughout the first set until Campbell broke an 11-11 deadlock, as the Camels strung together a 10-2 run to open a 20-13 advantage on a solo stuff by Madison Linxwiler. Gardner-Webb quickly countered with a 7-1 spurt, closing the gap to 21-20 with a Dyson smash.
The Camels answered with four of the next five points, finishing off the set and taking a 1-0 lead in the match following a Layden service ace.
Gardner-Webb stormed back early in the second, scoring 12 of the frame's first 14 points to open a 12-2 advantage on a timely swing by Bowers. With the Runnin' Bulldogs leading 18-9 several minutes later, Campbell answered with a surge of its own, closing to within one at 21-20 following a Layden smash to cap an 11-3 run.
The Runnin' Bulldogs settled down moments later, countering with a 4-1 spurt to quell the rally and even the match at 1-1 on a set-ending smash by Lee.
Campbell earned a gritty third set win after the break, breaking a 10-10 deadlock with a 13-6 run to open a 23-16 advantage following a smash by Jessica Stocking. After Marshall countered with a kill, Campbell answered with back-to-back points, closing out the set and claiming a 2-1 lead in the match on an ace from Crema.
The Camels carried the momentum into the fourth, scoring 11 of the frame's first 15 points to take an 11-4 lead after Layden capped the run with back-to-back kills. Gardner-Webb quickly countered with a 7-2 spurt, trimming the margin to 13-12 following two consecutive Dyson smashes and a tandem stuff by Dyson and Marshall.
The teams would trade points for the next several minutes, with Gardner-Webb rallying from a 21-19 deficit to force set point at 24-23 on an ace from Marshall. The Camels hung tough, answering with back-to-back points and sealing the 27-25 fourth-set victory moments later following a Tait smash.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Saturday afternoon when the Runnin' Bulldogs host High Point in Big South play at 2:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena.
