BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb University volleyball team scored its most exciting win of the season on Friday night at Paul Porter Arena, defeating UNC Asheville in a contest highlighted by a 30-28, fourth set win by the Runnin' Bulldogs, ahead of the clinching fifth to complete a reverse sweep.

The Runnin' Bulldogs didn't get off to the best start on Senior Night, dropping the first two sets. UNC Asheville scored a 25-23 result in the first and a wild 27-25 result in the second, putting GWU in a 2-0 hole despite outscoring the Runnin' Bulldogs by just four combined points in the two sets. However, things began to turn with a big third set.

Gardner-Webb climbed back in the game, mostly dominating in route to a 25-17 win in the third set. The Runnin' Bulldogs took what was a 6-6 tie and rolled from there, sparked by a pair of huge kills from redshirt sophomore Cayton White. Celebrating her senior night, Kyla Davis also came up with the goods late in the third with two huge kills of her own. Suddenly, 6-6 became 20-12. A couple late service errors from there pushed GWU back into the match, trailing 2-1.

Everything popped off at Paul Porter Arena in the fourth, where Gardner-Webb leveled the match with a 30-28 win. In a set that combined for 58 points, neither team led by more than four the entire duration of play. Gardner-Webb looked to be on the cusp with a 23-17 lead, highlighted by a kill from freshman Isabel Sandstrum, before UNC Asheville stunned the crowd with an 8-1 run to flip the script. After staving off match point, the Runnin' Bulldogs had multiple chances before finally taking over the moment and scoring the set win. Graduate middle Alivia Rew, on senior night, connected on two huge kills in between another from White, getting GWU over the line. In total, the 'Dawgs scored six of the last nine points in the stanza to level the match at 2-2.

After that marathon, the fifth and final set almost seemed easy. Gardner-Webb sprinted away to a 7-2 lead and didn't look back as the 'Dawgs completed the reverse sweep with a 15-10, fifth set win. White managed three of the final four points for GWU to complete an unforgettable night at Paul Porter Arena.

Leaders for Gardner-Webb include Sandstrum with 15 kills, White with 14, Rew with 13, junior setter Rebecca Siedenburg with 22 assists, followed by 19 for junior setter Morgan Hornaday, sophomore libero Molly Littlefield with 24 digs, and senior libero Kayla Hawkins with 22 digs.

The Runnin' Bulldogs now focus on the stretch run of the Big South season, traveling to USC Upstate on November 9th.