CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College Blue Hose women's volleyball team (6-9, BSC: 4-0) opened Big South Conference play at home on Friday, Oct. 6 with a four-set victory 3-1 (25-19, 25-12, 19-25, 25-15) over Gardner-Webb (7-9, BSC: 1-3).
"First conference match at home and we put in a solid performance," Presbyterian Coach
Steve Benson Said. "We're improving at every match and the team is showing more grit and tenacity day by day. These matches are tough and we're excited to be 4-0 in conference so far."
The Blue Hose were led by junior outside hitter
Hannah Rowe who recorded 16 kills, eight digs, and one service ace, while hitting at .316 percent. Senior opposite
Kasey Battle tallied 10 kills, two blocks, and a .444 hitting percentage. Junior libero
Courtney Aulbaugh recorded three service aces and seven digs. Sophomore setter
Anna Baranski had 14 assists, two service aces, and six digs.
PC wore pink tonight for breast cancer awareness month.
How it Happened vs Gardner-Webb
PC jumped to a 3-1 lead in the first set after a kill from
Hailey Grocholski and a service ace by Baranski. Kills from Battle,
Jordan McAda, and
Courtney Williams, with a service ace from
Kinsey Bailey, then put the Blue Hose up by four with a score of 13-9. The score was 16-12 after Rowe stepped up and delivered two kills for Presbyterian followed by one from Battle. After some back and forth the Runnin' Bulldogs cut PC's lead down to two with a score of 19-17. Gardner-Webb will only be able to get so far after Presbyterian scores the next six out of eight points, with kills from Grocholski, Rowe and a set ending service ace from Aulbaugh. The Blue Hose take set one 25-19.
In the second set Gardner-Webb won the first two points, but PC was able to go on a five-point run behind some errors from the Runnin' Bulldogs and a kill from Battle. Miller and Battle pick up a few kills, but Gardner-Webb scores seven points giving them the lead 9-8. A kill from Bailey followed by back-to-back service aces from Aulbaugh put PC back in front with a score of 11-10. The Blue Hose dominated the rest of this set, only allowing the Runnin' Bulldogs to score two more points, going on a 14-2 run. Rowe led this streak of points with five kills while McAda, Bailey, Battle, and Williams all added a kill each. This put Presbyterian up 2-0 after winning the second set 25-12.
In set number three, Gardner-Webb takes an early lead scoring four in a row after PC takes just one. Kills from
Sophia Del Valle and Battle bring the Runnin' Bulldogs lead down to one with a score of 5-4. The Blue Hose are able to steal the lead 12-10, after some errors by Gardner-Webb and kills from Williams and Miller. After a few lead changes the score is tied at 16 apiece. A kill from Williams and a service ace from Del Valle put PC up 19-17. The Runnin' Bulldogs hold PC there and score eight more to win their first set 25-19.
The Blue Hose started the fourth set off going up 4-1 with kills behind Rowe, Grocholski, followed by a service ace from Rowe, but Gardner-Webb quickly tied it up 4-4. After some errors from Gardner-Webb and kills from Miller, McAda, and Battle, PC takes the lead back with a score of 12-6. A few more errors from Gardner-Webb and kills from Battle and Rowe pushed Presbyterian's lead even further ahead with a score of 18-12. The Blue Hose are able to hold the Runnin' Bulldogs to just three more points while they take seven, after three kills from Rowe and a match winning service ace from Baranski. PC takes the final set 25-15.
Notables
- The Blue Hose have matched their best Big South start since 2018 with a 4-0 conference record.
- PC recorded a team hitting percentage of .444 in the second set.
- Presbyterian had four service aces in set one.
Up Next
The Blue Hose continue Big South play at home with a matchup against the Winthrop Eagles Saturday Oct. 7 at 6 p.m.
