Cougars End Eagle Volleyball Winning Streak
“I was hoping we had a chance there after winning the third set,” said Eagle Head Coach Chad Callihan, “but we didn’t start off well and it’s hard to come back from that. We will regroup because we’ve been playing pretty well the last few weeks, so we can’t get down just because we ran into a team that was able to expose some of our weaknesses.”
The loss snaps a 10-game winning streak for GSU, which falls to 22-8 (12-2 SoCon.) Both of Georgia Southern’s losses in league action this season have come versus College of Charleston (25-5, 13-1 SoCon).
The Cougars had three players post double-digit kills, while junior right side hitter Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) led the Eagles with 14 kills and a .385 hitting percentage.
“Tonight was a rough night,” added Callihan. “We ran into a very good opponent tonight. College of Charleston was playing very well and defended really well. We just couldn’t ever seem to get anything going and I thought we looked a little bit flat. For all of the type that surrounded this game, I was a little disappointed in the energy that we brought to the court, but Charleston is a great opponent, so a lot of credit has to go to them.”
Defensively, junior libero Ashley Roe paced GSU with 12 digs, followed by junior outside hitter Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) and sophomore middle hitter Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.), who each recorded eight. Bellissimo was second on the squad with nine kills.
Set One: College of Charleston 25, Georgia Southern 18
Georgia Southern attempted a late rally in the opening frame, cutting the Cougar lead to five (22-17) with three-straight points before College of Charleston closed out the set 25-18.
Junior middle hitter Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) led the GSU offense with four kills, while Roe and sophomore setter Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) were atop the Eagle defense, tallying four digs apiece.
The Cougars held GSU to .200 at the net, hitting .469 themselves.
Set Two: College of Charleston 25, Georgia Southern 16
In the second set, a kill from Nelson knotted the game at 12-all before Charleston used a 13-4 run to finish out the win 25-16.
Offensively, junior outside hitter Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led the Eagles with three kills. Four other Eagles each recorded two kills, but the squad was held to a .188 hitting percentage. Bellissimo recorded a team-high four digs.
Set Three: Georgia Southern 25, College of Charleston 20
Nelson posted five kills and hit .714, with senior middle hitter Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) adding four kills as Georgia Southern fought off the Cougars in the third set. Gildersleeve was part of both Eagle blocks in the frame.
GSU rallied from down three, using a 10-2 run to pick up a 25-20 win and stay alive. The Eagles hit .457 as a team and kept the Cougars at a match-low .278 at the net.
Set Four: College of Charleston 25, Georgia Southern
College of Charleston used a 7-0 scoring run to put the match away in the final set, turning a 17-10 lead into a 24-10 advantage. The Eagles mounted a small rally, rattling off four straight before the Cougars closed out the match 25-14.
Bellissimo and Nelson led GSU with four and five kills, respectively, and Small added two block assists.
The Eagles return to action Tuesday evening, facing Davidson in a 6 p.m. first serve. Georgia Southern will honor three seniors prior to the match as part of Senior Night. The first 50 fans in attendance will receive a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich and the winner of the season-long raffle to ‘Win a WII’ will be announced. Live stats and a subscription-based live video will be available for both matches at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
-GS-
- Category: Volleyball
- Published on Saturday, 06 November 2010 22:08
