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SPORTS

THE TARTAN Sept. 28, 2011

Volleyball falls to Liberty in five sets, drops to 4-9

Highlanders unable to complete comeback against stubborn Flames, drop another contest at home
DOM BAYA
dbaya@radford.edu
In a tight knit contest in which there were only three lead changes and a comeback by the Highlanders to force a 5th set, the Radford University womens volleyball team was unable to respond against the Liberty University Flames as the Highs lost their conference opener on Sept. 23, 2-3. The scores from the ve sets were 25-19, 16-25, 17-25, 25-19 and 11-15. Looking to avoid a conference play loss to the Flames, the Highs controlled the rst set by leading 11-5 after the games rst timeout. Despite a rally by the Lady Flames when they found themselves trailing, the Highs ended the rst set on a 7-2 run that gave them the lead. Similar to their opponent, Liberty led from start to nish in the second set, leading by as many as 10 before they closed out the set, 2516. Going into game three, the Highs gained ground temporarily by claiming a 5-1 lead before the Flames rallied. Liberty turned the set into a one point contest when they rallied, making the score 11-10 in the third set. However Libertys size at the net played a key difference as they held the Highs to a negative percentage while totaling six and a half blocks. Liberty eventually took the third set after a furious comeback, 25-17. Trailing 2-1 three sets into the game, RU refused to fall. The Highs went into the fourth game red up, and jumped out to a 12-6 start after tying the game at eight apiece to claim a 25-19 victory in the set. With the game tied at two sets apiece, the match went into a 5th and nal tiebreaker set. With the contest tied at 10 in the nal set, the Lady Flames took control by going on a 4-0 run before winning the game off a Radford error, 15-11. The loss dropped the Highlanders to a 4-9 mark on the season, while the Flames improved to 6-9. I think that tonight we showed that we have a chance in the conference and that we played our best in a while even with our ups and downs, said sophomore outside hitter Emily Carlin. Carlin had 10 digs in the contest, as well as a team leading .204 attack percentage. As a whole, the Highs had a .074 percentage on the night. Our biggest thing [we have to do] is to play smart, said freshman middle blocker Savannah Cantrell. Cantrell recorded nine kills on the night. Even with the loss, the Highs had three players reach double gures in digs, led by freshman libero Rachel Brummitts 30 digs. Carlin recorded her rst double of the season with a career high 19 kills and 10 digs. Freshman outside hitter Rachel Wiechecki added 17 digs while freshman middle blocker Emma Deininger added six block assists. The Highs return to the oor on Sept. 27 with a 7 p.m. road contest at North Carolina Central University.

Photo by COURTNEY EARLL | The Tartan

Photos by COURTNEY EARLL | The Tartan Freshman middle blocker Savannah Cantrell and senior middle blocker Carly Fleming patrol the floor against LU.

Freshman middle blocker Savannah Cantrell recorded nine kills, two digs and two assists in the loss against LU.

GWANZURA: Star giving back to homeland

From page 7
about this and started a fundraiser called Boots for Brian. Its a project that he started out just by sort of writing on the board, trying to get some spare cleats off of people, said Head Coach Marc Reeves. We took it into US Passbacks Foundations and have a lot of support from camps and community, and we raised like 170 pairs of cleats. The cleats that Brian raised with this fundraiser ultimately were sent to soccer players back in his country. Theyd be able to play the game like players here in the U.S. Ive never bought cleats in my life until now, Gwanzura said. My parents didnt have the money to buy me cleats. When I came here, you see guys with like, four or ve pairs of cleats. Off the eld, Gwanzura is an accounting major, and will be graduating in spring 2012. Its hard, I always work in the library, he said. I manage though, I manage, so far its been good. Gwanzura said the most difcult thing about being a college soccer player for him was time management. You have to give it your all in terms of school, you want to pass, and also you want to do well when you are playing soccer, so its like, trying to balance those two things together, he explained. Coach Reeves actually wasnt the one who recruited Gwanzura when he was a freshman. I took the job last April, so I inherited the team, and Gwanzura was part of that team, said Reeves. He was recruited by the former head coach so I rst met [Gwanzura] when I took the job, with a smiley personality and a good soccer player and, you know a great person. Gwanzura will be missed by both his coach and his teammates at the end of the season, and ultimately the end of the 2011-2012 school year. He is one of six seniors graduating this year, including fellow stars Carter Mills, Iyiola Awosika and Anthony Payne. According to Reeves, Brian will be a tough piece to ll because of his presence on the eld.

SOAR: Highs make furious comeback

From page 7
struck gold thanks to an assist from Awosika, nailing a header past Dean that gave the Highs their fourth goal in the 66th minute. With just 12 seconds remaining in the game Awosika recorded his third goal, giving him a team leading six on the season, with his second penalty kick of the night. I think we upped our temper a little bit, continued our tempo, and found our rhythm. We just had to not give up and keep our heads up, said Awosika. With the win, the Highs extended their home win streak to seven, a mark that dates back to last year, and it also gave the team their third five-plus goal effort at Cupp Stadium in the last four games. RU goalkeeper Ryan Taylor led the Highs with a spectacular performance recording six saves while giving up just one goal on the night. The Highs held a 19-10 advantage in shots over, while the Phoenix outmatched the Highs in corners 4-6. The win brings RUs season record to 4-3, with all losses coming on the road so far. The Highs start conference play on Sept. 28 with a match at Campbell University before returning to Cupp Stadium on Oct. 1 against UNC Asheville in a match set for 2 p.m.

COURTNEY EARLL | The Tartan

Senior defender Aldo Macias reigns in a possession. The RU backfield allowed seven shots on goal against Elon.

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