LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gardner-Webb dominated in the second set and was a point away from forcing a decisive fifth frame, but the Runnin' Bulldogs fell to Seattle by a 3-1 score on Saturday in the final of three matches at the Bellarmine Invitational in Louisville, Ky.

As a team, the Runnin' Bulldogs finished with eight more points than the Redhawks (77.0-69.0), eight more kills (60-52), four more aces (10-6), 10 more assists (55-45) and five more digs (61-55).
 
Fresh off a thrilling 3-2 win over Bellarmine in the night cap on Friday, Gardner-Webb returned to the floor for an 11 a.m. opening serve Saturday morning. The Runnin' Bulldogs dropped the first game by just a pair, 25-23, before rebounding for a dominant 25-14 victory over the Redhawks in set two.
 
Seattle answered in set three, countering with a 25-21 victory to go up 2-1, but Gardner-Webb continued to fight in the fourth as the Dawgs tried to force a decisive fifth set for the second consecutive match. Using a strong 7-1 run, the Runnin' Bulldogs overcame a one-point deficit to take a 17-12 advantage, and a Kylee Garrison kill forced set point with GWU leading, 24-22, but the Redhawks answered with a 4-0 run to end the game and take the match.
 
"It's always tough ending a weekend with a loss, but we are starting to play some really exciting volleyball," said head coach Eric Plunkett. "We won a lot of statistical categories today, but just weren't able to close it out late in a couple of sets. We definitely have a lot to build upon from this weekend and look forward to putting that into play in the coming weeks."
 
Garrison led the way for Gardner-Webb with a season-high 20 kills while notching her third double-double of the season with 10 digs. The Huntersville, N.C. native finished the day hitting .425 on 40 attacks and added two blocks.
 
Morgan Hornaday also capped off a monster weekend at the Bellarmine Invitational. The freshman, who logged 35 and 48 assists in the first two matches against IUPUI and Bellarmine, respectively, set a new career high for the third consecutive outing as she dished out 51 assists to help a Gardner-Webb team who hit .269 for the match with 60 kills.
 
Three other players finished with double-digit kills, as McKenna Timmerman, Delaney McCullough and Avery Cole all posted 11 on the day for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Timmerman hit .318 on 22 attacks, while McCullough and Cole each tallied two blocks apiece, one shy of a team-high three blocks from Mikayla Logan, who also had seven kills.
 
Meanwhile, four Runnin' Bulldogs posted double-digit kills, including Sophia Bolden (12), Sophia Kotsovolos (11), Kayla Hawkins (10) and Garrison (10).
 
Gardner-Webb will return to Boiling Springs for another week of practice before hitting the road for a trio of matches at the Troy Invitational next weekend. The Runnin' Bulldogs will open with a pair of matches on Friday, September 16 against Jacksonville at noon and Troy at 7 p.m. before returning to face Alabama State on Saturday at noon. All matches will be played at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama.