Sept. 6, 2005
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina received career nights from its three leaders in the match, but it wasn't enough as the Catamount volleyball team dropped its 2005 home opener, 3-2 (30-20, 29-31, 35-33, 22-30, 11-15) to Gardner-Webb Tuesday night in the Ramsey Center.
Sophomore Meredith Harmon, senior Ellie Talbot, and junior Meghan Boyle either set or tied career highs in kills in the match. Harmon paced the trio of Catamounts in double-figures, tallying a career-high 20 kills while only committing four errors for a match-high .390 hitting percentage. Talbot tied her career-best, killing a season best 15 while adding a team-high 22 digs in the double-double performance.
Boyle doubled her previous career-high in kills, finishing the night with a triple-double. She finished with 35 assists, 17 digs, and 10 kills in the losing effort. Also defensively for the Catamounts, freshman Tracey Justus tallied a career-best 20 digs for the Cats.
"Tonight was a heartbreaker," said first-year head coach Stephanie Dragan. "We started the match with perhaps the most energy and swinging the best we have thus far this season. But we just couldn't capitalize on that momentum. I think that both squads were hungry to get that first win tonight."
She added, "I hate that the career nights for three of our players could not have come with a win attached. Meghan's triple-double is rare to see in volleyball, but is fantastic that she was able to achieve it. Again, I just wish we could have capitalized on those performances to get that first victory."
Gardner-Webb (1-8) was paced by sophomore Audra Harrison with 25 kills and 25 digs, while classmate Ashley Pridgeon added a triple-double of her own tallying 16 kills, 25 assists, and 14 digs. Freshman Katie Matykowski rounded out the Bulldogs' double-digit performers, finishing with 13 kills and 12 digs.
In game one, Western hit a season-best .351 en route to the 30-20 win. The Cats raced to a 13-5 advantage early, and built the lead to as many as eight at 18-10, prompting a Bulldog timeout. After the stoppage, GWU pulled back to within five behind the serve of Bethany Martin. The Bulldogs would get to within three, 20-17, before Western closed out the game.
Game two seesawed back-and-forth until the Cats were able to take a 19-15 lead off a Gardner-Webb hitting error. But the `Dogs again battled back, taking the advantage on a block by Jackie Mathison. With the game tied at 27, Gardner-Webb tallied back-to-back kills to serve game point, but WCU rallied to tie it at 29 before two consecutive scores by the Bulldogs evened the match at one-apiece.
Four attack errors and a pair of service aces helped Gardner-Webb race to the early, 9-3, lead in the third game. The Bulldogs would lead by as many as eight, 20-12, before Western mounted a comeback to tie then pull ahead, 24-22. The two squads battled tooth-and-nail over the final points, with the Catamounts eking out a 35-33 win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Bulldogs forced the fifth and deciding game by taking control early and leading throughout in game four, winning 30-22. Gardner-Webb hit a match-high .265 in game four, while Western was limited to .060, committing eight errors. In the final game, each team managed to take two-point advantages until late when Gardner-Webb capitalized on a service ace and two Harrison kills to take game five, and the match, 15-11.
Western Carolina returns to action this weekend as it travels to Birmingham, Ala., for the Samford Invitational. The Catamounts will face Birmingham Southern on Friday, Sept. 9, as well as the host Bulldogs and the Fairfield Stags on Saturday, Sept. 10.
