Volleyball Aims for Above .500 SoCon Record this Weekend
10/9/2008 4:16:00 AM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern will look to get over .500 in Southern Conference play this weekend with matches at Western Carolina and Appalachian State.
The Eagles (8-11, 2-3) face the Catamounts Friday at 6 p.m. and the Mountaineers Sunday at 2 p.m.
“I think it's a pivotal weekend for us,” said GSU head coach Chad Callihan. “We set a goal of making sure we get into the tournament at the end of the year and even though these are a couple of North Division teams, we only face them once, so if we can have a good weekend against them it's going to help us in the long run. I felt like we did some positive things last weekend so hopefully we can build on those through this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how we've grown.”
GSU ended a three-match losing streak last Saturday with a close 3-1 win at The Citadel. The Eagles had four players, all freshmen, record double-figure kills led by Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) who had career-high totals of 15 kills and 19 digs.
“Getting a win helps a great deal,” said Callihan. “We were pretty down over our last couple of performances and a win was in order for us to continue to grow as a program. I was glad to see us get it and the way did it. I thought we played well and I thought we played well in crucial situations. It was a big morale boost and a big confidence boost. Hopefully we'll be able to sustain it and have it carry over to Friday.”
Western Carolina (3-15, 1-4) has been swept in each of their last three outings but return home for the first time since Sept. 28. All three of the team's wins have come on their home floor.
“They're a scrappy team that keeps the ball in play a lot,” said Callihan. “They have a pretty active setter who throws the ball around quite a bit and likes to be offensive which is something we haven't seen a lot of so that'll be a different look. Any time you make that trip up into the mountains it can be a tough weekend so it'll be a different atmosphere as far as the arena they play in. There will be some things we haven't seen but hopefully as long as we're composed and play with some energy we'll be in good shape.”
Appalachian State (4-14, 0-4) are looking for their first league win and have dropped four straight.
“We can expect the same thing,” said Callihan. “App is a very good defensive team. They have a couple of great back-row players that make it difficult for any offense. One of the keys for us is to be patient and make sure that we understand that they're going to dig some balls and make some good plays defensively. We can't press which lead into unnecessary errors on our part. If we do that, we'll put ourselves in a good position.”
The Eagles (8-11, 2-3) face the Catamounts Friday at 6 p.m. and the Mountaineers Sunday at 2 p.m.
“I think it's a pivotal weekend for us,” said GSU head coach Chad Callihan. “We set a goal of making sure we get into the tournament at the end of the year and even though these are a couple of North Division teams, we only face them once, so if we can have a good weekend against them it's going to help us in the long run. I felt like we did some positive things last weekend so hopefully we can build on those through this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how we've grown.”
GSU ended a three-match losing streak last Saturday with a close 3-1 win at The Citadel. The Eagles had four players, all freshmen, record double-figure kills led by Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) who had career-high totals of 15 kills and 19 digs.
“Getting a win helps a great deal,” said Callihan. “We were pretty down over our last couple of performances and a win was in order for us to continue to grow as a program. I was glad to see us get it and the way did it. I thought we played well and I thought we played well in crucial situations. It was a big morale boost and a big confidence boost. Hopefully we'll be able to sustain it and have it carry over to Friday.”
Western Carolina (3-15, 1-4) has been swept in each of their last three outings but return home for the first time since Sept. 28. All three of the team's wins have come on their home floor.
“They're a scrappy team that keeps the ball in play a lot,” said Callihan. “They have a pretty active setter who throws the ball around quite a bit and likes to be offensive which is something we haven't seen a lot of so that'll be a different look. Any time you make that trip up into the mountains it can be a tough weekend so it'll be a different atmosphere as far as the arena they play in. There will be some things we haven't seen but hopefully as long as we're composed and play with some energy we'll be in good shape.”
Appalachian State (4-14, 0-4) are looking for their first league win and have dropped four straight.
“We can expect the same thing,” said Callihan. “App is a very good defensive team. They have a couple of great back-row players that make it difficult for any offense. One of the keys for us is to be patient and make sure that we understand that they're going to dig some balls and make some good plays defensively. We can't press which lead into unnecessary errors on our part. If we do that, we'll put ourselves in a good position.”
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