SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb volleyball team took a five-match winning streak into the Wofford Invitational on Thursday night, before suffering a 3-0 defeat to hosts Wofford to begin the weekend tournament

The home-standing Terriers got off to a fast start on Thursday night and didn't look back, with Gardner-Webb falling 25-13 in the first set, 25-22 in a competitive second set, then 25-11 in the third set to end the match

In the first, Gardner-Webb trailed 10-3 out of the gate but battled back to get within three at 13-10. Freshman duo Haedyn Crumbley and Brookelynn Nance provided big sparks early with the duo scoring four straight GWU points. Redshirt junior outside hitter Serena Kohler also played a major role with three kills, all early in the first

Gardner-Webb once again found itself in a big hole in the second set before nearly rallying back for a massive comeback win. Down 23-16, the Runnin' Bulldogs scored five of the next six points to bring the score to 24-22, again largely through the efforts of Nance and Crumbley on the attack. It was narrowly not enough, as Wofford managed to find the final point

Gardner-Webb and Wofford battled early on in the third set, with a service error on the Terriers putting GWU down just one at 7-6. Wofford rallied in a huge way from there however, eventually winning 25-11 in the third set to complete the sweep

LEADERS
Kohler finished with a team-high six kills, followed by Crumbley with five. Sophomore setter Olivia Lefebvre continued a good individual season with 13 assists, while graduate libero Nalani McBride recorded 20 digs for her sixth 20-dig performance of the campaign

UP NEXT
The Wofford Invitational continues on Friday, with the Runnin' Bulldogs taking on Northern Arizona in Spartanburg at 3 pm