CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Senior Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) tallied a match-high 14 kills, and sophomore Sydney Marshall (Norcross, Ga.) equaled her career-best with eight blocks as Austin Peay rallied to edge Gardner-Webb in a five-set thriller to open the 2015 Scenic City Showdown, hosted by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, on Friday afternoon.
Austin Peay (3-6) won the match by scores of 25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 25-16 and 15-11, totaling 58 kills, 10 blocks and seven service aces, while Gardner-Webb (3-6) posted 53 kills, 10 blocks and 61 digs.
"This was a very competitive match, yet I am disappointed we could not pull out the win," said head coach Leo Sayles. "Poor starts in sets one and four hurt us. Our passing hurt what was otherwise a good match. Tyra Montour was excellent today, and we saw pretty good distribution when our passing was on. A little better execution in our passing core will elevate our play dramatically."
Montour led the way for Gardner-Webb with a season-high 14 kills, while Taylor Lillard (Victorville, Calif.) and Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) each added nine smashes. Marshall and Jene Lee (San Dimas, Calif.) both chipped in seven kills, as Marshall tallied a match-high eight blocks.
Justine Bowers (Dana Point, Calif.) dished out 42 assists to go along with nine digs, five kills and three blocks, while Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 15 digs. Katie Loftin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Amanda Sahm (Marion, Iowa) tallied nine and eight digs, respectively.
Kaylee Taff paced the Governors with 13 kills and a .385 hitting percentage, while Ashley Slay and Cecily Gable added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. April Adams posted a match-high 20 digs, as Taff tallied seven blocks. Kristen Stucker and Aubrey Marsellis dished out 24 and 23 assists, respectively, while Marsellis also notched seven kills on 13 attempts.
Austin Peay jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the first set before Gardner-Webb responded, stringing together a 12-6 run of its own to knot the score at 18-18 on back-to-back kills by Devin Judge (Marietta, Ga.). The Governors would answer with a 7-4 spurt, reclaiming the advantage with a Samantha Strother smash before take a 1-0 lead in the match following back-to-back Runnin' Bulldog miscues.
The Runnin' Bulldogs battled back in the second, overcoming a 16-11 deficit with a 7-1 spurt to snatch an 18-17 advantage following a smash from Marshall. After Austin Peay knotted the score at 18-18, Gardner-Webb countered with a set-closing 7-4 run of its own, evening the match at 1-1 on a kill by Dyson.
Gardner-Webb carried the momentum into the third, opening an early 10-6 lead on a smash by Montour. After Austin Peay answered with a 5-2 spurt to close the gap to 12-11, the Runnin' Bulldogs countered with a 9-0 surge to push the margin to 21-11 following an emphatic kill by Montour. The Runnin' Bulldogs finished off the set moments later, claiming a 2-1 lead in the match with a kill from Bowers.
Austin Peay responded in the fourth, starting the frame with a 15-6 surge that was capped by a Taff kill. The Governors would cruise to the set win from there, holding off a late push by the Runnin' Bulldogs and forcing a deciding fifth frame on a block by Stucker and Taff.
The fifth set would prove to be a tightly contested battle, with Gardner-Webb snatching an early 6-5 lead on a kill by Bowers. Austin Peay quickly answered with a 6-3 spurt, claiming an 11-9 advantage with a Marsellis kill before Montour halved the margin to 11-10 with a smash of her own.
The Governors would counter with four of the next five points, closing out the come-from-behind victory with a kill by Strother and a tandem block by Stucker and Taff to cap the set.
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Saturday for the final day of the 2015 Scenic City Showdown, squaring off against host Chattanooga at 12:30 pm before taking on UAB at 4:30 pm.
