GARDNER-WEBB WINS OVER NC A&T IN STRAIGHT SETS

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.  - September 14, 2004 -  Gardner-Webb (3-5) picked up its third victory of the season with a 30-21, 30-26, 30-26 win over N.C. A&T (3-4) Tuesday night in Paul Porter Arena.

It did not take the Lady Bulldogs long to get on the board, as Melanie Custer assisted Ashley Pridgeon’s kill to give GWU the 1-0 advantage in the match opener. N.C. A&T tied the score at 1-1 before an Aggie service error gave the ‘Dogs the edge once again at 2-1. Gardner-Webb never relinquished the lead from that point on, rolling to the 30-21 win.

The second match was the most highly contested of the night, as there were seven ties and eight lead changes before three consecutive kills from Pridgeon, Lindsey Sutherland and Audra Harrison gave GWU the 15-12 lead. Gardner-Webb eventually extended the margin out to 18-13 and maintained a lead of at least two points until the final point gave the Bulldogs a 30-26 win.

In the third set NC A&T stormed out of the gates in an attempt to extend the match to four games. Arlene Mitchell put down three kills and a service ace to help push the Aggies to the commanding 10-3 lead. A Cornwall kill seemingly stopped the bleeding for Gardner-Webb and back-to-back kills from Audra Harrison brought the Bulldogs to within four at 12-8. A&T would
attempt to re-establish control of the game, pushing its lead back to six points at 17-11 before a resilient GWU lineup rallied for seven straight points to claim the 18-17 advantage and rode the momentum to the 30-26 win.

The Lady Bulldogs were paced by Pridgeon, who had a match high of 13 kills to go with two aces and five digs, while Cornwall added 10 kills and 16 digs. Harrison added eight kills and 11 digs and Sutherland  collected three solo blocks and five kills. Custer had 30 assists and 11 digs.

N.C. A&T got 11 kills, eight digs and four aces from Arlene Mitchell and Brendan Chatman ran the Aggie offense with 21 assists. Krystal Cooper added seven kills and five digs for A&T.