Small Comes Up Big in Sweep of App State
10/12/2008 4:04:00 AM | Volleyball
BOONE, N.C. --- Georgia Southern freshman Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) posted 11 kills and a team-best .381 hitting percentage to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 (25-22, 29-27, 25-22) victory at Appalachian State Sunday at the Holmes Center.
GSU are currently riding a season-best three-match winning streak and get above the .500 mark in Southern Conference play at 10-11 overall and 4-3 in the league. ASU drops to 4-16, 0-6.
“It was a good performance for us on the road,” said Eagles head coach Chad Callihan, “especially on a long weekend where you can lose focus. But we came out and played with a purpose today. We had some good runs in our favor and had a few go against us but overall we did a good job and did another nice job of maintaining our composure in tight situations.”
Small has recorded nine or more kills in each of the team’s last three wins.
Freshman Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led the Eagles with 13 kills and tallied her third consecutive double-double with 10 digs. Sanford’s classmate Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) just missed out on double-digits with nine kills and 12 digs.
“I think they’re gaining confidence,” said Callihan. “Bethany had a few more errors today than what she’s accustomed to but she still played a good all-around game. Claybaugh is really starting to come into her own on the right side. She’s finding a good comfort zone there attacking-wise so she’s bringing a lot of energy to the court. Parker is a good offensive middle ? she’s working to get better on her blocking ? but gave us some good offensive productivity out of that spot. We couldn’t be more pleased with her progress.”
Sophomore Michelle Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) had five kills and no errors and led the defensive effort with six total blocks. Senior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) dished out 32 assists.
App State’s Becca Norris totaled 10 kills and Heather Kale led all players with 15 digs.
Georgia Southern returns home to host Davidson Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
