Eagles Set to Compete in NC State Tournament
Georgia Southern took three opponents to the wire in the MT Blue Raider Bash last weekend. The Eagles opened the tournament taking Southern Mississippi and Duke into five sets, before falling to Miami in four. In the three matches, junior Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) racked up 60 kills, 4.29 per set, to pace the offense, while Parker Small’s (Charlotte, N.C.) 15 blocks led the defense.
In the home opener on Monday, the Eagles blistered Savannah State, 3-0. Junior Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) posted seven kills to lead the team, while Enjoli Johnson (Lilburn, Ga.) and Nicole Jeschelnik (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) added six kills each. Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) recorded four block assists.
NC State: The Wolfpack carry a 5-1 record into the weekend after taking two of three in the Indiana Tournament. A five-set win over Illinois State preceded a sweep of Arkansas State. NC State closed the tournament falling 3-0 to Indiana. With 70 kills in 20 sets, Becah Fogle paces the offense with 3.50 kills per set, while setter Megan Cyr leads the team with 232 assists. Kelly Wood leads from the libero position with Luciana Shafer close behind.
Georgia Southern and NC State have met once prior to Friday night’s contest. The non-conference teams faced each other in the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., in 2007 with the Eagles winning 3-1.
Morehead State: A much stronger team than its 4-4 record suggests, Morehead State recently split matches at Marshall, defeating North Carolina A&T, 3-0, and falling in five sets to the Thundering Herd. The Eagles dropped 2-of-3 in the Northwestern Challenge, but opened with a strong performance, taking a 3-1 decision over Utah. The double-barreled attack of Ellie Roberson and Holly Evans leads the Eagles, while Kirstie Brangers leads with 275 assists. Liz Schuler heads the libero spot, accumulating 152 digs through 29 sets.
This will be the first meeting between Georgia Southern and Morehead State.
Mercer: A familiar program to the Eagles, Mercer has picked up wins over The Citadel and UT Martin this season, bringing a 2-7 record into the tournament. Amiee Frutchey owns the team lead with 60 kills with Krista Hurley following right behind with 58. Setter Bridget Sheerin boasts 171 assists, while Charlotte Harris owns 132 digs.
Georgia Southern leads the all-time series against Mercer, 28-12. The teams last met in the Bear Crawl hosted by Mercer in 2008. Mercer took the contest, 3-1. GS last defeated the Bears in 2004.
Quoting Head Coach Chad Callihan: “We continue to concentrate on improving each match as a team regardless of the competition. Even though our record isn’t what we would have liked after last weekend, I think we played better volleyball than we did at the War Eagle Invitational. If we can continue to improve at NC State, I believe it’s just a matter of time before results start to turn in our favor.
“The competition we faced last weekend will definitely help us make the trip this weekend. We expect to see the same level of competition at NC State and we hope all our preseason play will pay dividends as we prepare for conference play.”
Tournament Schedule: The full tournament schedule is posted below. All matches will be played in Reynolds Coliseum on the NC State campus.
Friday:
Mercer vs. Morehead State, 4 p.m.
NC State vs. Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
Saturday:
GSU vs. Morehead State, 11 a.m.
NC State vs. Mercer, 1 p.m.
Mercer vs. Georgia Southern, 5:30 p.m.
NC State vs. Morehead State, 7:30 p.m.
Follow the action: Live stats will be available for the tournament and accessible on the official athletics website of NC State, www.gopack.com.
- Category: Volleyball
- Published on Thursday, 09 September 2010 10:58
