Nov. 1, 2002

Box Score Courtesy of: Gardner-Webb Sports Information

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb bolted to a quick lead in Game One of Friday night's Atlantic Sun volleyball tilt with Samford, but the visitors battled back for a 30-28 win and beat GWU, 30-24 and 30-19 in the final two games for a 3-0 win.

Samford (13-12, 5-6 A-Sun) got a match-high 16 kills from hitter Alyssa Whitehead, who took advantage of an excellent performance by setter Krista Kettering (45 assists). Hilary Gary, who hit an impressive .435 and posted 15 kills for Samford, was also helped by Kettering's nifty passing throughout the match. Kettering, a junior from Dayton, Oh., also had a pair of kills and two digs for the visitors. Stefanie Pickett (10 kills, .368 hitting percentage) and Angela Smith (four kills, 10 digs) also played well for Samford.

Gardner-Webb held a brief lead again in Game Two, but saw Samford storm back into control for a 30-24 victory. The host Bulldogs (2-23, 1-9 Atlantic Sun) fell behind 10-4 in the final game and the trio of Whitehead, Kettering and Gary were too much down the stretch. The visitors hit a match-high .455 in the final game, with only two hitting errors as a team in 33 attempts.

Kristie Brinkley and Talia Ogle, the host Bulldogs' top two hitter coming into the match, continued in that role Friday. Each led GWU with 13 kills, while Brinkley led the way with 10 digs and a pair of service aces.

Samford (56 kills, 18 errors, 109 attempts) hit .349 for the match. Gardner-Webb (41 kills, 14 errors, 98 attempts) hit .276 for the match.

Gardner-Webb returns to action on Saturday, hosting Belmont (Tenn.) in another conference bout at 7 p.m. in the Lutz-Yelton Convocation Center. Samford returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to Birmingham-Southern for a 7 p.m. match.