Volleyball Tops Portland in Lobo Invitational Finale
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Meredith Paskert led four Georgia Southern volleyball players in double-figure kills with 17 as the Eagles halted a two-game losing skid with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 18-25, 25-23) victory over Portland in their final match of the Lobo Invitational Saturday night.
Jamie DeRatt collected 13 kills and 10 digs for GSU (6-4), and Enjoli Johnson was credited with 12 kills. Moriah Bellissimo posted 10 kills and five digs, while Kate Van Dyke recorded 48 assists and 17 digs.
Ariel Usher led Portland (5-5) with 15 kills, and Jacky Rodriguez finished with 15 digs.
Leading the match 2-1, the Eagles overcame a 20-17 deficit in the fourth set. GSU ran off four straight points, three coming on kills by DeRatt, Paskert and Bellissimo, to pull ahead 21-20.
Then with the score tied 22-22, Bellissimo scored two points on a kill and a service ace. After an Usher kill for Portland, Kym Coley put a ball down off an assist from Van Dyke to end the match.
"I'm really proud of this team and their will to win," said Eagle coach Chad Callihan. "We had a couple of tough losses this weekend where we fought hard but just didn't execute well enough. This evening, the execution was there, and we played a solid match against a very good Portland team."
The Eagles open play in the SpringHill Suites Invitational at Hanner Fieldhouse Thursday night. Georgia Southern will take on South Alabama at 7 p.m. The Eagles also host Wisconsin Friday at 7 p.m. and a pair of matches Saturday.
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- Category: Volleyball
- Published on Sunday, 31 December 1899 19:00
