POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:
LINK: Head Coach Eric Plunkett
LINK: Middle Blocker Hannah Donaldson
 
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Competing front and center in front of an electric home crowd at Paul Porter Arena on Friday night, the Gardner-Webb University volleyball team received double-digit kills from three of its own as the Runnin' Bulldogs overcame an early deficit to down Charleston Southern University in five sets, 3-2. 
 
Hannah Donaldson posted a team-high 16 kills on .542 hitting and added six blocks (one solo) to lead the 'Dogs. Kylee Garrison registered another 14 kills to eclipse 500 for her career, and Lauryn Rocassin narrowly missed out on her second triple-double of the season as the Delaware, Ohio native finished with 10 kills, 27 assists and nine digs. 
 
Tori Weatherley also posted 27 assists for GWU and added 12 digs to cap off a double-double, while Audrey Gun and Delaney McCullough chipped in with nine kills apiece. Mikah McIntosh and Sophia Bolden then led the way on defense with 23 and 17 digs, respectively. 
 
Gardner-Webb (5-8; 2-1 Big South) hit .205 as a team, nearly a season-high, as the Runnin' Bulldogs racked up 62 kills on 185 attacks to go with eight service aces, 10 team blocks, 58 assists and 76 digs. Charleston Southern (5-8; 1-2 Big South) managed to hit .217 with 64 kills, but the Buccaneers were unable to overcome an influx of errors during games one and two in which the 'Dogs were able to capitalize on. 
 
The win boosts GWU to 2-1 to begin Big South play for the first time since 2013, while Friday's five-set thriller marks the first time the Red and Black came out on top in a conference match that went the distance since 2017. 
 
"Any win is a good win, but it was a battle," said Gardner-Webb head coach Eric Plunkett. "I think for us, a balance in our offense is really important. When we have multiple people with double-digit kills, that makes us really hard to stop, and we had multiple people flowing today. It's a joint effort every single day. I'm super proud of this team being resilient all week and responding from a loss last week. I just couldn't be more proud of what they were able to accomplish." 
 
Charleston Southern delivered the first blow of the evening as the Bucs raced towards a commanding 25-19 win in the opening frame. But Gardner-Webb reversed the script in the next two sets, gaining firm control and leading for almost the entirety of games two and three before ultimately claiming both by scores of 25-19. 
 
Facing a 2-1 deficit, Charleston So. retaliated in a fourth set that featured nine ties and four lead changes, the most in each respective category on the night. In what became a back-and-forth affair throughout, the Bucs fended off a pressing GWU squad to force a decisive set five. 
 
But after falling behind 3-0 in the early going of the final sprint to 15, strong serves from McIntosh – including a pair of service aces – helped kickstart a 5-0 surge for a Runnin' Bulldog squad that refused to ever relinquish the lead from that point on. Despite CSU fighting back to tie the score on four different occasions, Donaldson and Rocassin helped seal victory with late kills as GWU closed in on a 15-13 fifth-set victory to win the match.
 
"Our adrenaline was super high and we were a little low following the fourth set, but we knew what we wanted to do and we knew how to execute," said Donaldson regarding the decisive fifth set. "I'm really proud."
 
Friday's win for the Runnin' Bulldogs is only the second over Charleston Southern since 2016. The Buccaneers entered this weekend's matchup as winners of seven of the last eight head-to-head meetings between the two teams. 
 
Gardner-Webb hits the court again tomorrow for the second leg of its back-to-back, a 2 p.m. conference matchup against Presbyterian inside Paul Porter Arena. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+ with Phil Constantino and Sam Hyman on the call.