RALEIGH, N.C. — Shaw University came out firing in its home opener Wednesday night, taking the opening set before Catawba College rallied to hand the Lady Bears a 3-1 nonconference setback inside historic C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.
Shaw captured the opening set 25-22 before Catawba answered with wins of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-15 to take the match. The Lady Bears moved to 0-5 on the season, while Catawba remained unbeaten at 4-0.
The Lady Bears wasted little time establishing themselves in the opening frame. With Shaw leading 5-2, Leana Gould delivered four consecutive service aces during a dominant run that pushed the advantage to 9-2. A kill from Sydni Hunter extended the margin to 10-2 as Shaw controlled the early tempo.
Catawba chipped away at the lead and pulled within 22-21 late in the set, but Shaw responded. Gould delivered kills for two of the Lady Bears' final three points, including the set-clinching attack, to give Shaw a 25-22 victory.
Momentum shifted in the second set as Catawba built an early 9-1 advantage. Shaw battled back behind kills from Hunter, Taelin Connolley, Layla Wood and Gould, but the visitors maintained control to even the match with a 25-18 win.
The Lady Bears again opened quickly in the third set, taking an early 5-3 lead before Catawba responded with a run of its own. Shaw trimmed the margin behind another strong stretch from Gould, but Catawba closed out the frame 25-17 before finishing the match with a 25-15 fourth-set victory.
Gould turned in a strong all-around performance for Shaw, finishing with a team-high 14 kills, seven service aces and two solo blocks while hitting .237. Her seven aces accounted for all but one of Shaw's eight aces in the match.
Hunter added seven kills while hitting .211 to go with two blocks. Connolley recorded five kills, 11 digs and an ace. Setter Justus Alexander directed the offense with 25 assists while also contributing a team-high 13 digs.
Shaw finished with 36 kills, 47 digs, eight service aces and seven total blocks. Catawba countered with 45 kills and a .222 hitting percentage while recording 18 service aces.
The Lady Bears are back in action this weekend at UMO for the Pickle Invitational. Updated gametimes to follow.
