Catawba, Gardner-Webb Sweep Presbyterian in Volleyball Action
CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College volleyball team could not muster any game wins Saturday afternoon and were swept by both South Atlantic Conference opponent, Catawba College (30-17, 30-25, 30-27), and NCAA Division I Gardner-Webb University (30-28, 34-32, 30-19). The losses drop Presbyterian to 5-11 overall and 0-3 in the SAC.
CATAWBA 3, PRESBYTERIAN 0 (Box Score)
The Indians (5-6, 2-1 SAC) jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never relinquished their advantage, building it to 19-9 then closing out the game on a 11-8 run to win the first game, 30-17. After starting out down 4-1, PC rallied to take an 11-10 lead in game two. Both squads continued to trade points, as there were 10 tie scores. With the score tied at 18-18, the Indians went on a 12-7 run to win it.
The Blue Hose were in control of the third game and looked to be on their way to forcing a fourth one. Presbyterian boasted a 6-1 lead before Catawba slowly began to comeback. The third game featured six tie scores and a pair of lead changes. The Blue Hose led 22-17 then the Indians used an 8-3 run to knot the game at 25-25, going on to win 30-27.
Catawba finished the match with five players in double figure kills as sophomore Melissa Griffith (Williamsburg, Va.) led the way with 15 kills. Freshman Mai Zoua Lo (Hickory, N.C.) and sophomore Melissa Powers (Bennett, N.C.) contributed 12 kills apiece, while Lo and junior Missy Bartholomew (New Carlisle, Ind.) added 13 digs each.
Sophomore Justine Lanchester (Downs, Ill.) was the offensive leader in the first game for PC with 11 kills, while four Blue Hose players had double digit digs with junior Jodi Palmer leading the way with 22 digs.
GARDNER-WEBB 3, PRESBYTERIAN 0 (Box Score)
The first and second games were close as GWU pulled out 30-28 and 34-32 victories. There were 19 tie scores and 11 lead changes between the first two games. The Blue Hose blew a 22-17 lead as Gardner-Webb used a 7-1 to post a 24-23 advantage en route to the win. The Runnin’ Bulldogs dominated the third game, going in front 12-3 and never letting Presbyterian getting any closer than 21-18. GWU closed out the third game on a 9-1 run for the 30-19 victory.
Junior Ashley Pridgeon (Tallahassee, Fla.) was GWU offensive leader with 15 kills and sophomore Bethany Martin added 10. Freshman Regina Feagin (Bloomington, Ill.) had 41 assists and 11 digs, while sophomore Katie Matykowski (Sun Prairie, Wis.) chipped in 13 digs.
PC’s freshman Rachel Lewis dished out 33 assists and digged 16 kill attempts, while Palmer had 11.
Presbyterian returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at home against Anderson University at 7 p.m. Catawba will be at USC Upstate on Tuesday as well at 6:30 p.m., while Gardner-Webb will entertain Winston-Salem State University on Sept. 19 also at 7 p.m.