ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Gardner-Webb picked up their fifth win of their conference schedule after a dominant 3-0 win at UNC Asheville on Thursday evening. The victory ties the most wins within the Big South for GWU since 2014.

"It was a battle tonight. We know how well Asheville plays at home, so we knew we had to be sharp tonight,' said Head Coach Eric Plunkett. "We talked this week about being the consistent team and we did that tonight. That mindset led us to being able to execute later in sets which helped us to the 3-0 win tonight." 

The Runnin' Bulldogs won the first set 27-25 and needed a huge comeback to claim the win. GWU led 21-17, but UNCA tallied seven in a row, taking a 24-21 advantage. The Bulldogs had multiple chances at match point, but Gardner-Webb scoring four straight and were able to secure the set win after a pair of kills by Kylee Garrison. 

In the second, GWU used a 5-0 run to distance themselves from the Bulldogs and secure another win. The third set saw the Runnin' Bulldogs break a 19-19 tie and tally six of the final eight points to end the night. Sophia Kotsovolos had a service ace for the final point to seal the victory. 

Garrison led the way for Gardner-Webb on the attack, with a team-high 12 kills with McKenna Timmerman posting 10. Mikayla Logan and Delaney McCullough added eight apiece. McCullough led the team with a .467 hitting percentage.

On the defensive end, Sophia Bolden finished with 15 digs and Kotsovolos had 14. Morgan Hornaday ended with 10 digs while adding 36 assists. Garrison had eight digs and two blocks on the night while Logan finished with a team-high three blocks.
 
Gardner-Webb will return to action on Saturday, October 29 when it hosts USC Upstate at 6:00 p.m. The Spartans currently sit at 3-7 against Big South competition this season with the 'Dogs now at 5-6 in fourth place.