Sanford and Small Propel Eagles to 3-1 Conference Victory Over Wofford
9/26/2009 1:51:00 AM | Volleyball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A combined 31 kills from sophomores Bethany Sanford and Parker Small propelled the Georgia Southern volleyball team to open Southern Conference play with a victory over Wofford Friday night (September 25). The Eagles captured a tight first set and dominated the court in set two. The Terriers got on the scoreboard taking set three before Georgia Southern controlled the final set, taking the match 3-1 to improve to 10-5, 1-0 on the year. Entering the match leading the South Division of the SoCon, Wofford dropped to 13-3 overall, 0-1 with the loss.
In a closely contested opening set, the Terriers and Eagles shuffled the lead before Georgia Southern tied the set at 16-all. A Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) kill put the Eagles in the lead and in the mix of two kills each from Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) and Danielle Graham (Cincinnati, Ohio), Georgia Southern took a 22-19 advantage. Two Wofford kills and an Eagle error tied the opening stanza at 22-all, before GSU posted a final three points to take the opening set, 25-22.
Georgia Southern came out firing in the second set, gaining an early 5-0 lead. With a six point lead, 7-1, Wofford capitalized on three Georgia Southern errors and a Terrier kill to pull to within two at 7-5. At 14-9, two Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) kills bookended around a Wofford kill gave the Eagles a 16-10 advantage. Georgia Southern allowed a remaining seven Wofford points as the Eagles closed out a 25-17 second set.
A tight third set turned in favor to the Terriers, who narrowly captured the stanza, 25-23. Three ties put the conference foes in a gridlock at 23-all. Wofford took the lead with a Rachel Woodlee kill and sealed the set with an Eagle error to put the match at 2-1, Georgia Southern.
In the fourth set, Georgia Southern was led by Small (Charlotte, N.C.) with nine kills, including a series of four straight that put the Eagles on top, 15-6. Georgia Southern led by as many as 10 to secure the final set, 25-16, off Small's 15th kill of the match. The Eagles hit a match-high .448 from the floor going 16-of-29 to secure the conference opening match.
Sanford scored her seventh double-double of the season with 16 kills and 17 digs. Small notched her third double-digit kill performance of the season, posting 15 with a .565 game-high hitting percentage. Freshman Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) tallied her third straight match with 50-plus assists, closing with 52.
With four Eagles owning double-digit figures in digs, senior libero Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) led the defense for Georgia Southern with 22. Sophomore Claybaugh recorded a season-high 17 digs in the winning effort.
The Eagles held the Terriers to .143 hitting, while GSU posted a team hitting percentage of .247.
Georgia Southern continues conference action with a quick turnaround, traveling to Furman for a 2 p.m. match on Saturday, September 26.
In a closely contested opening set, the Terriers and Eagles shuffled the lead before Georgia Southern tied the set at 16-all. A Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) kill put the Eagles in the lead and in the mix of two kills each from Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) and Danielle Graham (Cincinnati, Ohio), Georgia Southern took a 22-19 advantage. Two Wofford kills and an Eagle error tied the opening stanza at 22-all, before GSU posted a final three points to take the opening set, 25-22.
Georgia Southern came out firing in the second set, gaining an early 5-0 lead. With a six point lead, 7-1, Wofford capitalized on three Georgia Southern errors and a Terrier kill to pull to within two at 7-5. At 14-9, two Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) kills bookended around a Wofford kill gave the Eagles a 16-10 advantage. Georgia Southern allowed a remaining seven Wofford points as the Eagles closed out a 25-17 second set.
A tight third set turned in favor to the Terriers, who narrowly captured the stanza, 25-23. Three ties put the conference foes in a gridlock at 23-all. Wofford took the lead with a Rachel Woodlee kill and sealed the set with an Eagle error to put the match at 2-1, Georgia Southern.
In the fourth set, Georgia Southern was led by Small (Charlotte, N.C.) with nine kills, including a series of four straight that put the Eagles on top, 15-6. Georgia Southern led by as many as 10 to secure the final set, 25-16, off Small's 15th kill of the match. The Eagles hit a match-high .448 from the floor going 16-of-29 to secure the conference opening match.
Sanford scored her seventh double-double of the season with 16 kills and 17 digs. Small notched her third double-digit kill performance of the season, posting 15 with a .565 game-high hitting percentage. Freshman Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) tallied her third straight match with 50-plus assists, closing with 52.
With four Eagles owning double-digit figures in digs, senior libero Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) led the defense for Georgia Southern with 22. Sophomore Claybaugh recorded a season-high 17 digs in the winning effort.
The Eagles held the Terriers to .143 hitting, while GSU posted a team hitting percentage of .247.
Georgia Southern continues conference action with a quick turnaround, traveling to Furman for a 2 p.m. match on Saturday, September 26.
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