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
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.
