ROCK HILL, S.C. – Nicole Celarek had a season-high 15 kills to lead Gardner-Webb, yet the Runnin' Bulldogs would drop a 3-1 decision at Winthrop on Saturday evening.
 
Winthrop (11-6, 3-1 Big South) took the match by scores of 21-25, 25-15, 25-21, and 25-13, attacking at a .224 rate with 56 kills, while holding Gardner-Webb (7-10, 1-4 Big South) to a .130 hitting percentage with 42 kills.
 
Celarek led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 15 kills on 47 attempts.  Kaeyln Dyson, Maria Emmick, and Hannah Driscoll each had a pair of kills to lead the team, while Emma Milstead had a match-high 23 digs and Amanda Sahm led the team with 39 assists.
 
The Eagles were lead by Sydney Gunter with 16 kills, Keaupono Fey with four blocks, Carlie Skelton with 21 digs, and Siani Yamaguchi with 43 assists.
 
The first set consisted of several scoring runs, as there were four occasions one team would score four or more consecutive points.  The Runnin' Bulldogs would go on the first scoring drive, taking four straight points after a 2-2 tie to take a 6-2 advantage.  Winthrop would respond with a 5-0 spurt to lead by a 7-6 score. 
 
The two teams would trade the next two points, followed by a 6-0 run by GWU, capped by a kill by Dyson to give GWU a 13-8 lead.  Winthrop answered with a  5-1 run, including four unanswered points to pull within one point at 14-13, but Gardner-Webb would slowly build its lead back to five points at 22-17, leading to a Winthrop timeout.
 
Gardner-Webb would go on to take the set by four points, 25-21, sealing the opener on a kill by Celarek.
 
The second set was all Winthrop's, as the Eagles would open with a 5-0 run, leading to a Gardner-Webb timeout.  The Runnin' Bulldogs would pull within three points at 12-9 after a quick 4-0 run, but that would be as close as they would get to the lead, as Winthrop would answer with a 8-2 run to lead by nine points at 20-11.
 
The Eagles would take the second set by a 10-point margin at 25-15 to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Winthrop would also lead throughout the entirety of the third set.  The Eagles would build a lead as high as eight points at 20-12, but the Runnin' Bulldogs would attempt a comeback effort, going on an 8-3 run to close the gap to three points at 23-20 after a kill by Keira Moore.
 
The Eagles would take two of the next three points to claim the set by a score of 25-21.
 
GWU would open the fourth set with a quick 3-1 lead on a kill by Driscoll, but Winthrop would respond with a 4-2 run to tie the set at 5-5.  Gardner-Webb would score the next point on a kill by Joy Rhodes to take a 6-5 lead, but the Eagles would answer with 14 unanswered points to seize control of the set.  Winthrop would go on to take the set by a 25-13 score and the overall match win.
 
Gardner-Webb steps out of Big South play for its next matchup, taking on North Carolina A&T on Tuesday, October 3 at 6:00 pm in Greensboro, N.C.