SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Gardner-Webb claimed a thrilling five-set decision over Middle Tennessee State to open the Wofford Invitational, before falling to host Wofford in the nightcap on Friday evening at Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
Gardner-Webb (5-7) took the opening match over the Middle Tennessee State (4-7) by scores of 25-22, 14-25, 25-21, 29-31, and 15-11, before falling to Wofford (5-5) by scores of 25-14, 25-18, and 25-14.
 
"I am extremely proud of this young squad for fighting through adversity in our first match to overcome a very good MTSU squad," said Gardner-Webb head coach Leo Sayles about the win over Middle Tennessee State.  "Maya Jeffcoat-Troy came in and was a spark plug for us and Hannah Donaldson put up a huge block for us.  I felt we were closing out the match is set four when Madi Riggs was injured, and it took several points to settle down and find our offense again.  Amanda Sahm's leadership in the fifth set was critical in guiding the team to a gusty victory."
 
After taking the opening set, the Runnin' Bulldogs gave up an early eight point run to the Blue Raiders in the second set and were unable to close the gap, allowing MTSU to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Gardner-Webb rallied from an early deficit in the third set to take a 2-1 overall lead, but Middle Tennessee State fought back in the fourth set, coming back from a 22-16 deficit when GWU's Madi Riggs went down with an injury to tie the set at 23-23, and from there both teams battled back and forth until the Blue Raiders claimed the set to force a decisive fifth set.
 
GWU opened the fifth set with an early 3-0 run and led throughout to seal the overall match win.
 
"Unfortunately playing five competitive sets took a toll and we quickly turned around to take on a very strong veteran Wofford team," said Sayles on the match against the Terriers. "We just were not able to maintain any flow and their tempo frustrated us."
 
In the final match of the evening, Hannah Lancaster led the GWU attack with six kills on 32 swings, followed by Elizabeth Griffith with five smashes on 13 attempts.  Amanda Sahm led the 'Dogs with 16 assists.
 
Defensively, Charissa Coleman collected 17 digs to lead the team while Lancaster and Alexandria Roycraft each had one block.
 
The Terriers were led in kills by Catie Cronister with 12 kills on 31 attacks, while both Lorissa King and Noa Miller led the squad with 18 assists.
 
Taylor Gill tallied a match-high 20 digs, while Colleen Reilly and Kara Shacklette led the Terriers on the block with three blocks each.
 
"Overall, this was a solid day with a very good win plus a quality learning experience to prepare us for conference play, " stated Sayles.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs are currently set to open Big South Conference play this upcoming Tuesday evening, hosting Winthrop at 7:00 pm inside Paul Porter Arena. Stay tuned to GWUSports.com for any potential schedule changes due to Hurricane Florence.