Radford Falters In Loss At Gardner-Webb

Friday, September 29

Boiling Springs, NC

6:00 PM

Radford University

1-10,0-2Big South

Gardner-Webb

7-7,1-1Big South

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Radford	20	17	27	0
Gardner-Webb	25	25	29	3

Photo by: Rob Simmons

9/29/2023 7:52:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – A heartbreaking third-set loss put the finishing touches on a 3-0 loss to Gardner-Webb for the Radford women's volleyball team on Friday night.

Down 2-0 and needing a win to stay alive in search of their first Big South victory of the season, the Highlanders (1-10, 0-2 Big South) looked like they had found a groove in the third set.

After a talk form Head Coach Sherisa Livingston during the break, they came out firing and took a 6-1 lead before the Runnin' Bulldogs (7-7, 1-1 Big South) called a timeout. Radford fended off a number of comeback attempts by GWU, eventually coming one point away from forcing a fourth set at 24-20.

A pair of kills and back-to-back attack errors allowed Gardner-Webb to tie the set at 24-all, the first tie of the entire third stanza, and a back-and-forth battle ended with the Runnin' Bulldogs clinching a sweep.

Radford was hitting the ball well from the very start, racking up eight kills on a .192 hitting percentage in the first set. Despite also earning a 4-to-2 advantage in service aces and a 3-to-0 difference in blocks, GWU took an early lead with a 25-20 win.

It was a different story in the second set as the Runnin' Bulldogs gave the Highlanders fits, allowing only five kills on a -0.207 hitting percentage. Even still, Radford showed a lot of fight after falling behind by 10 points and making it competitive until GWU took it, 25-17.

Their 15 kills in the third set proved to be a season best for the Highlanders, but 10 attack errors were too much to overcome as the match came to a close.

NOTABLES

Olivia Flanagan paced the attack with seven kills after coming in as a substitute
Jackeline Nerro (16 assists) and Julia Slivka (10 assists) split time at setter
Shelby Hernandez and Sierra Moore had 16 and 11 digs, respectively
Sydney Mundkowsky had four kills and a block in her first start as a Highlander
Autumn Flowers was excellent for GWU, recorded 10 kills on a .562 hitting percentage, to go with four blocks

UP NEXT
Radford finishes its weekend road swing tomorrow afternoon when it takes on the Winthrop Eagles at 2 p.m. in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

FOLLOW RADFORD VOLLEYBALL
For more information on the Radford volleyball team follow @RadfordVB on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Volleyball on Facebook.