BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - It was a tale of two tapes Friday afternoon as the Delaware State University volleyball team squeaked out a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 17-15) victory over Gardner-Webb, but fell, 0-3, to Charlotte on the first day of the GWU Runnin' Bulldog Classic, held at Paul Porter Arena.
Three Hornets posted double doubles in the win over the Bulldogs and were led by sophomore Edarkis Branch's (Los Angeles, Calif.) 13 digs and 12 kills. Branch added in three assists, two blocks and one ace. Freshman Jasmine Jackson (South Riding, Va.) collected 13 digs and 11 kills while senior Bel Fakaosi (Salt Lake City, Utah) posted 37 assists and 15 digs.
DSU held an 18-13 lead in the first set of the match, but Gardner-Webb went on a 9-0 run, including five kills from Tyler Cockrell to eventually take the 25-20 victory.
In set two, the Hornets were down,17-22 before going on a 8-1 run for the set two win. In the final points, DSU recorded four straight kills and two service aces from Fakaosi. Branch finished off the set with two consecutive kills with Fakaosi assists.
Set three was all the Bulldogs as the took an 18-10 lead and turned it in for a 25-18 set win and 2-1 match lead.
The Hornets took control in the fourth and eventually won, 25-22, to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was a back and forth affair, as neither team took more than a two-point lead. The set featured eight lead changes. The Hornets tied the set at 15-15 with a kill from senior Laisha Davis (Riviera Beach, Fla.) before the Bulldogs committed attack and ball handling errors to give DSU the 17-15 win.
GWU juniors Tyler Cockrell and Amanda Murphy recorded career-highs of 21 and 11 kills, respectively.
In the Hornets' second match of the day, Charlotte never trailed in the opening set en route to the 3-0 win (25-13, 25-21, 25-16).
Jackson led the way for DSU with seven kills and five digs. Junior Jessica Croucher (Brisbane, Australia) collected nine digs and just two kills (.400 attack percentage) in the match. Fakaosi added in 21 assists.
Junior Amanda Videmsek led the 49ers with 15 kills and a .591 attack percentage.
The Hornets wrap up the GWU Runnin' Bulldog Classic with a 2:30 p.m. match against UMKC tomorrow. Live Stats will be available through www.DSUHornets.com.
---DSU WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL---
