Volleyball Sweeps The Citadel in Home Finale
11/4/2007 4:04:00 AM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern volleyball team celebrated Senior Day in style, sweeping The Citadel 3-0 (30-18, 30-15, 30-26) Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles improve to 10-18 overall and 7-9 in the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs fall to 5-27 and 0-16.
“With this being Senior Day and an emotional day across the board, our girls came out and played well and were very disciplined from the beginning, which helped us put three solid games together,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray.
Georgia Southern hit .308 as a team, led by freshman Michelle Uzoh’s (San Antonio, Texas) 10 kills and .769 attack percentage. The Citadel, on the other hand, hit just .034, including -.077 and -.029 in games one and two, respectively.
“We blocked well and we dug balls,” added McCray. “Defense has been a huge part of our game this year and for us to have 58 digs in three games says enough. We worked a lot on being disciplined and digging around the block, and I think that’s really paid off.”
The Eagles’ Gorana Bacic (Richmond, Va.) led all players with 13 kills on a .400 hitting percentage.
Georgia Southern never trailed in the first two games and held a .365 to -.055 advantage in attack percentage.
The Bulldogs raced out to a 13-7 lead in game three, but following a GSU timeout, the Eagles reeled off five straight points to close within one. Another 5-0 rally put Georgia Southern ahead for good 18-16.
GSU junior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) recorded match-highs of 38 assists and 14 digs.
Before the match the Eagles said goodbye to its seniors: Bacic, Bailey Coleman (Awendaw, S.C.) and Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
“This is a tough year because we are losing three great individuals and three great student-athletes,” said McCray. “They have done so much for this University and have been great role models for kids in the area, and that’s what we need in a senior group. They have showed leadership throughout their careers ? on and off the court ? and if our younger players can follow in their footsteps, we’re going to have a great program here.”
