Lady Flames Hand GWU First Big South Loss

In a Friday evening matchup of Big South unbeatens at the Vines Center, the Liberty volleyball team used aggressive serving and superior blocking to hand Gardner-Webb its initial conference setback. Seven aces and eight blocks helped the Lady Flames win in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-17) sweep over the Bulldogs.

With the victory, the Lady Flames move to 12-5 overall and are one of two remaining Big South teams without a loss, at 3-0. High Point defeated Coastal Carolina Friday, boosting its conference record to 4-0. Liberty kept a couple streaks alive in the contest, as the Lady Flames have now swept nine straight home matches against Big South foes and improved to 8-0 this season when recording eight or more blocks in a match.

New conference member Gardner-Webb, which had won its first two Big South matches in program history, falls to 4-12 on the season and 2-1 in conference action.

Kallie Corbin (Jr., S, Beaverton, Ore.) got Liberty's evening off to a fast start, notching back-to-back aces on the first two serves of the contest. However, the visiting Bulldogs owned a slim 5-4 edge, before the Lady Flames ran off six consecutive points. Brittany Pacella (R-Jr., RS, Reading, Pa.) served for five of the markers during the surge, which included a pair of kills by outside hitter Jessica Nelson (R-Sr., Tokyo, Japan). Gardner-Webb got no closer than four during the remainder of the opening set, which ended in a 25-16 Liberty win.

Chelaine McCarty (Jr., MB, Houston, Ala.) paced the Lady Flames with four kills in set one and assisted on both Liberty blocks. Meanwhile, Corbin finished the stanza with a trio of aces. Heidi Steinebrunner starred for Gardner-Webb, contributing four kills and a solo block in the first set.

Steinebrunner served during a 4-0 spurt, which lifted Gardner-Webb to an early 6-3 advantage in the middle stanza. Once again, Liberty bounced back and reclaimed the lead by tallying five of the next six points. Shortly thereafter, the Lady Flames opened up some breathing room with a 7-0 surge. Middle blocker Ashley Webber (Sr., Lakeside, Calif.), who had two block assists during the prolonged run, finished it off with a kill, giving the Lady Flames an 18-10 lead. Nicki Scripko (So., OH/RS, Fayetteville, N.C.) then sealed a 25-19 victory for the home team with her seventh kill of the set.

Leading two sets to none, the Lady Flames battled the Bulldogs in a tightly-played third stanza. The score was tied nine times, including 11-11. A 6-0 run, five points of which came on Carmen Streeper's (R-Jr., RS, Rustburg, Va.) jump serve, then broke the set open for the Lady Flames. Streeper notched consecutive aces during the surge, which made the score 19-12, Liberty. The Lady Flames went on to conclude a 3-0 sweep with a 25-17 triumph.

McCarty put down kills on all four of her swings during the third set, helping Liberty hit a match-high .370. Teammate Karyl Bacon (So., OH/DS, Temecula, Calif.), who moved from libero to outside hitter prior to set three, added four kills and a matching number of digs. Reigning Big South Freshman of the Week Laura Wilcox notched four kills in the third set for Gardner-Webb.

This week's Big South Player of the week, Scripko, was the only player to reach double figures in kills. She ended up with 10 kills, giving her six straight double-digit kill performances. McCarty followed closely with nine kills on a .412 attack percentage, to go along with a match-high and season-high five blocks.

Corbin led all players in both assists (28) and aces (3), while tying Liberty freshman Kelly Haseman (L/DS, Three Rivers, Mich.) atop the dig category with nine. Corbin also hit .833 with five kills and a trio of blocks. Webber was also efficient with her attacks, needing just seven attempts to post five kills.

Steinebrunner finished with nine kills to lead Gardner-Webb and added a pair of blocks. Setter Regina Feagin's 23 assists and seven digs were both team-highs for the Bulldogs.

Liberty will travel to Radford Tuesday at 7 p.m., for a Big South contest versus its in-state rival. The Highlanders, 5-8 overall and 0-3 in conference play, temporarily have a new home court. While the Dedmon Center is undergoing major renovations, Radford is playing its home volleyball matches at Peters Hall on campus.

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Lady Flames Hand GWU First Big South Loss

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Team Stats

Nicki Scripko

Chelaine McCarty

Kallie Corbin

Ashley Webber