The 2006 Gardner-Webb volleyball season was one that will be looked back on for the rest of the program’s history as the year the team made tremendous strides and took its first steps in winning a conference championship and earning the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The squad, comprised of one senior, four juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen, compiled what is arguably the best season in the program’s young Division I history. Not only did the team earn its first-ever berth in the Atlantic Sun Tournament, it did so as the No. 5 seed.

At the conference tournament, head coach Chris Phillips’ group won the first game of the match, but succumbed to the Dolphins of Jacksonville – who advanced to the conference finals - in four games.

Along the way to earning its postseason berth, the Bulldogs reached several milestones and accomplished some things the program had not done in a long while.
Against North Carolina Central in its first home match of the season, which happened to be part of the GWU Runnin’ Bulldog Invitational, the Bulldogs recorded its first win of the season after starting out 0-6 after tournaments at Duke and Gonzaga. The 3-0 win not only marked the first win and the first home win of the year, but it was the first time the squad had won a match in Paul Porter Arena since a Sept. 14, 2004 win over North Carolina A&T.

The win marked the first of six wins in seven matches for the Bulldogs. GWU knocked off Robert Morris 3-1 before dropping a five-game heartbreaker to UNC Greensboro in the final game of the invitational. Against the Spartans, the Bulldogs tied the school record for total blocks with 17.0 in the contest. GWU also recorded 105 digs, setting another school record.

The Bulldogs ran off a season-high four consecutive wins after the loss to the Spartans. GWU downed Western Carolina 3-0 before winning its first road match of the season at nearby Wofford by a 3-1 margin. On Sept. 16, the Bulldogs took down Presbyterian 3-0. During the match, junior Ashley Pridgeon became the school’s all-time kills leader since the transition to Division I.

GWU returned to the friendly confines of Paul Porter Arena to shut out Winston-Salem State 3-0. In the win over WSSU, the Bulldogs compiled the best attack percentage in school history. The team combined to hit .563 in the sweep. Bethany Martin set a new GWU record with an .800 attack percentage in the contest.

After three tough losses at the UNC Wilmington Invitational, the Bulldogs took a bite out of Charleston Southern, winning 3-1.

Entering the conference portion of the slate, GWU had compiled a 7-10 mark. GWU opened its Atlantic Sun Conference schedule with a tough loss to the eventual regular season champions, ETSU, 3-0. The Bulldogs had leads late in each of the games, but fell 31-33, 27-30, 31-33.

Unlike the volleyball teams in years past, the 2006 squad did not get discouraged from the loss, but thrived because of how well it played. Two days later, on Sept. 30, GWU hosted Kennesaw State. The match, a deciding 3-0 victory in favor of the Bulldogs, proved to be one of the building blocks that was needed in order to advance to the tournament.

The 30-15, 30-17, 31-29 win over the Owls not only marked the first conference win of the season, but also for Phillips since her arrival prior to the 2005 season. The match was the first league win for the program since Oct. 28, 2003, when it downed Campbell 3-0.

The win gave the Bulldogs the boost it needed when facing conference teams. After dropping a non-conference match at Appalachian State, GWU returned home to square off against Stetson and Mercer on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7. The Bulldogs recorded their biggest win of the season over the Hatters in game one, taking a 30-9 decision. GWU went on to win the second game 30-22 and 30-26, completing the three-game sweep of the visitors.

The next afternoon, the Bulldogs continued their hot streak as it downed Mercer 3-1. GWU lost game one before running off back-to-back 30-24 wins and ending the match with a 30-28 victory over the Bears in game four. The match was the second come-from behind victory for Phillips team on the year, with the first coming at Charleston Southern. In the contest, the Bulldogs posted 74 kills, tying the school record that was set versus Stetson on Oct. 10, 2003. Freshman Regina Feagin dished out a school-best 64 assists in the win over Mercer.

GWU lost three consecutive matches, including two in A-Sun play, before finding the winning combination at home against High Point. The Bulldogs caged the Panthers in a 3-0 victory.

After hitting the road and traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., where the team lost two matches that would have put them in the conference tournament to North Florida and Jacksonville, GWU faced a tough task heading into its last conference match of the season at Campbell.

The all-time series against the Camels was knotted at 2-2. The Bulldogs had to win at least one game in the match in order to advance to the conference tournament due to the tiebreakers in the league, but the squad thought it had to win the match to make the postseason.

It was a big-time match-up for both schools. If Campbell won, it got into the postseason. The Camels were on their way to a postseason berth after winning the first two games. However, Phillips’ team found a rallying point and came back to post a 3-2 victory, which is arguably the biggest victory in the school’s Division I history.

Nine student-athletes saw time in the match, with eight playing in all five games. A total team effort, the squad tied the school record for kills (74) and assists (68) in the match. The team produced the second-most digs in a single match with 101. Individually, Katie Matykowski broke her own school record for digs, registering 34.

The road win was the first for the program in conference play since a 3-1 decision over Campbell on Oct. 1, 2002.

GWU continued to pile up the wins, recording victories at UNC Asheville and at home against North Carolina A&T to close out the regular season.

Against the Bulldogs of UNCA, Pridgeon tied the school record for kills in a match with 29. Feagin tied the school record she set for assists in a match with 64.
In addition to advancing to the postseason for the first time in school history, the Bulldogs tied the school record for wins in a season (14). The squad’s 14.04 kills per game are the best in school history as is the 12.86 assists per game, service aces per game (2.02) and 246 block assists.

GWU’s .438 winning percentage is the second best since the transition to Division I. The team was in the top five in multiple categories for a single-season records in school history. The squad was second in kills (1,530), attack percentage (.187), assists (1,402), service aces (220) and total blocks per game (1.69).

Individually, Feagin established a school record for assists in a single season with 1,280. Her 11.74 assists per game also stand as a record. Martin’s .230 attack percentage is the second best in school history as is Feagin’s 0.44 service aces per game. Matykowski’s 4.36 digs per game are the second most while Pridgeon’s 369 kills are the third highest in a single year. Melissa Gibson’s 20 solo blocks are the fourth most in a year as were Martin’s 55 block assists. Gibson’s 78 total blocks and 0.74 blocks per game are the third best in a year.

With only one senior on the 2006 team, the rest of the squad returning and some talented newcomers to the group, the 2007 Bulldogs will look to take the next step in winning its first-ever conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.