BOILING SPRINGS --- Kaelyn Dyson (Holly Springs, N.C.) posted eight kills, two aces and a .304 hitting percentage to lead the way for Gardner-Webb, as Furman tallied 39 kills en route to a straight-set sweep of the Runnin' Bulldogs on Tuesday evening in Paul Porter Arena.
Furman (5-4) won the match by scores of 25-13, 28-26 and 25-20, attacking at a .215 clip while holding Gardner-Webb (4-8) to a .183 hitting percentage. The Runnin' Bulldogs edged the Paladins on the block by a seven to five margin to go along with 49 digs and six aces.
"We finally had a team beat us at our strength tonight," said head coach Leo Sayles. "Furman is a disciplined, well trained, athletic team and took it to us in the first set. I was pleased with the way we settled down in the second, but we allowed the set to slip away from us. This is a tough stretch and we just need to keep looking ahead and keep improving."
Dyson and Tyra Montour (Kennesaw, Ga.) paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with eight kills each, while Devin Judge (Marietta, Ga.) and Nicole Celarek (Bensenville, Ill.) chipped in six and five smashes, respectively. Jene Lee (San Dimas, Calif.) tallied four blocks, as Justine Bowers (Dana Point, Calif.) added 29 assists and three blocks.
Anna Pashkova (Iowa City, Iowa) recorded a match-high 14 digs to move within 50 digs of the 2,000 mark for her career, as Katie Loftin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Amanda Sahm (Marion, Iowa) notched nine and eight digs, respectively.
Annie Bierman and Taina Joseph each recorded a match-high 12 kills to lead the way for Furman, as Bierman added 11 digs to account for a double-double. Christen Sikora chipped in eight kills and eight digs, while Jo Wilks dished out a match-high 34 assists. Meg DeMaar recorded 13 digs.
Furman broke an 8-8 tie with a 6-0 run in the first set, opening a 14-8 lead before pushing the margin to 21-12 on a block by Joseph and Sikora. The Paladins would close out the set from there, scoring four of the final five points to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.
The Runnin' Bulldogs battled back in the second, jumping out to a 12-6 lead on a block by Bowers and Lee that capped an 8-1 spurt. Furman quickly answered with a 10-6 run, closing the gap to 18-16 following a solo stuff by Amelia Bohlander.
The Paladins kept fighting, rallying to take a 23-22 advantage on a smash by Bierman before she pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs to set point at 24-23 with another kill. Gardner-Webb would counter with a 3-1 spurt, pushing the Paladins to set point at 26-25 before Furman responded with three straight tallies to claim a 2-0 lead in the match.
Furman carried the momentum into the third, breaking a 9-9 deadlock with a 3-0 spurt that was capped by a Joseph smash. The Runnin' Bulldogs would answer with a 6-4 run, closing the gap to 16-15 following a kill from Montour. The Paladins refused to cede control, countering with an 8-2 surge to push Gardner-Webb to set point before claiming the set, 25-20, on a Cynthia Ley kill.
"Kaelyn Dyson continues to play well, and we are glad to see seniors Tyra and Devin contributing so much," continued Sayles. "I am glad we have depth in our lineup this year. We will need each player to be ready to step up when called upon. We will make a few tweaks tomorrow and prepare for our final road trip before we start conference play."
Gardner-Webb is back in action on Friday at the Holiday Inn Hawkeye Challenge, hosted by the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa. The Runnin' Bulldogs will square off against host Iowa on Friday at 12:00 pm and Drake at 6:00 pm, before closing out the weekend with another matchup against Drake on Saturday at 10:00 am.
