Volleyball Tops N.C. State 3-1
9/1/2007 4:25:00 AM | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Georgia Southern junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) recorded 18 kills to lead the Eagles to a 3-1 (30-24, 25-30, 30-25, 30-19) win over North Carolina State Saturday evening at the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational.
GSU improves to 3-4 while N.C. State drops to 3-4.
“We came out really, really focused,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “We had a different routine today and that really helped the girls and got them mentally prepared. N.C. State is in a great conference and is a great team but I think we had the more focused team tonight.”
The Eagles bounced back after being swept by No. 7 Florida and No. 19 Santa Clara on Friday.
“It was a total team effort,” added McCray. “Our girls came in here and gave it all they had. There aren't too many times that a team can play two top-25 teams in the same day. For us to come in here and get a huge win against N.C. State will help us down the road.” Junior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) dished out a season-high 50 assists and senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) posted 18 digs. Julio, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, also notched a double-double with 16 digs.
The teams traded games one and two, but game three was all Georgia Southern. The Eagles never trailed and hit .356 as a team with only three attacking errors.
Game four saw the Wolfpack record a -.079 attack percentage and a strong service run from Chabra gave GSU a commanding lead early.
“This win is huge, especially after having a tough day yesterday,” said McCray. “To get a road win in a great tournament really helps our confidence.”
Georgia Southern returns to action next weekend at the Nike/Molten Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas, hosted by TCU.
