Eagles Shut Out Wofford 3-0, Remain Unbeaten at Home
10/31/2010 2:27:00 AM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Volleyball team swept Wofford 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) in front of the second-largest crowd in school history at Hanner Fieldhouse Saturday night to improve to 20-7 (11-1 SoCon) on the season. The Eagles, winners of their last eight matches and 17 of the last 18, improves to 11-0 on their home court this season with the victory. Wofford falls to 12-17 (2-9 SoCon).
"We had a goal of trying to protect our home court because we have worked hard to create a home-court advantage here with our fans really getting behind us," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Chad Callihan. "I'm pleased with what we're doing at home, so hopefully we can keep it rolling here over the last few games. "
Juniors Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) and Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) each finished with seven kills to lead GSU and senior Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) tallied five block assists, tying her season high. Claybaugh finished with .333 hitting percentage, while sophomore Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) led the Eagles with an .833 percentage, connecting on five of six attack attempts with no errors.
"I thought that Lauren [Claybaugh] did a pretty good job for us tonight," Callihan noted. "She stepped in and had a pretty seamless transition. She hasn't played a lot recently, so it was nice to see her step in there and really make some nice plays for us. Hannah [Nelson] had a pretty good match for us at right side and I thought Kate [Van Dyke] really did a good job moving the ball around for us."
Van Dyke dished out 26 assists on the night.
Set One: Georgia Southern 25, Wofford 20
After trailing by as many as three early in the frame, the Eagles rallied, rattling off six of the next eight points to take the lead 15-12 and push on for the 1-0 advantage.
Junior Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way for the Eagles with three kills in the first set, while Nelson and junior Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) each posted two. Wofford's Rachel Woodlee recorded a set-high four kills in 10 tries, adding three digs to her ledger.
Set Two: Georgia Southern 25, Wofford 21
GSU captured game number two, a set that featured 12 ties and four lead changes. Gildersleeve broke a 19-19 tie with a kill, providing the spark the Eagles needed as they went on to score five of the next seven points and roll to a 25-21 win.
The Eagles hit .259 as a team in set number two behind Claybaugh's four kills and .571 hitting percentage. Nelson and Gildersleeve combined for two of GSU's three blocks and junior Hayli Ketner (Spartanburg, S.C.) had five digs as the Eagles pulled ahead 2-0 in the match.
Woodlee added four more kills for the Terriers and would finish the match with a team-high 10.
Set Three: Georgia Southern 25, Wofford 21
Nelson and Van Dyke each posted a match-high three kills and four other Eagles each recorded two as GSU finished out the match with a 25-21 third-set win.
After the Terriers scored three-straight points to tie the frame at 13-all, the Eagles answered with three points of their own to take the lead for good.
"I thought we had good energy this evening. There were times when we could have executed better, but I was really pleased with our energy," added Calilhan.
"We just have a few areas where we need to improve - I thought our offense was a little bit off tonight and I think our blocking can continue to improve, which will in turn help our floor defense - so those are areas where we will continue to work in practice. We'll just try to stay sharp in the areas where we feel we are executing well. "
The Eagles step out of Southern Conference action Tuesday evening, traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., to face North Florida before returning to Hanner Fieldhouse and SoCon opponents next weekend.
"We had a goal of trying to protect our home court because we have worked hard to create a home-court advantage here with our fans really getting behind us," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Chad Callihan. "I'm pleased with what we're doing at home, so hopefully we can keep it rolling here over the last few games. "
Juniors Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) and Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) each finished with seven kills to lead GSU and senior Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) tallied five block assists, tying her season high. Claybaugh finished with .333 hitting percentage, while sophomore Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) led the Eagles with an .833 percentage, connecting on five of six attack attempts with no errors.
"I thought that Lauren [Claybaugh] did a pretty good job for us tonight," Callihan noted. "She stepped in and had a pretty seamless transition. She hasn't played a lot recently, so it was nice to see her step in there and really make some nice plays for us. Hannah [Nelson] had a pretty good match for us at right side and I thought Kate [Van Dyke] really did a good job moving the ball around for us."
Van Dyke dished out 26 assists on the night.
Set One: Georgia Southern 25, Wofford 20
After trailing by as many as three early in the frame, the Eagles rallied, rattling off six of the next eight points to take the lead 15-12 and push on for the 1-0 advantage.
Junior Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) led the way for the Eagles with three kills in the first set, while Nelson and junior Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) each posted two. Wofford's Rachel Woodlee recorded a set-high four kills in 10 tries, adding three digs to her ledger.
Set Two: Georgia Southern 25, Wofford 21
GSU captured game number two, a set that featured 12 ties and four lead changes. Gildersleeve broke a 19-19 tie with a kill, providing the spark the Eagles needed as they went on to score five of the next seven points and roll to a 25-21 win.
The Eagles hit .259 as a team in set number two behind Claybaugh's four kills and .571 hitting percentage. Nelson and Gildersleeve combined for two of GSU's three blocks and junior Hayli Ketner (Spartanburg, S.C.) had five digs as the Eagles pulled ahead 2-0 in the match.
Woodlee added four more kills for the Terriers and would finish the match with a team-high 10.
Set Three: Georgia Southern 25, Wofford 21
Nelson and Van Dyke each posted a match-high three kills and four other Eagles each recorded two as GSU finished out the match with a 25-21 third-set win.
After the Terriers scored three-straight points to tie the frame at 13-all, the Eagles answered with three points of their own to take the lead for good.
"I thought we had good energy this evening. There were times when we could have executed better, but I was really pleased with our energy," added Calilhan.
"We just have a few areas where we need to improve - I thought our offense was a little bit off tonight and I think our blocking can continue to improve, which will in turn help our floor defense - so those are areas where we will continue to work in practice. We'll just try to stay sharp in the areas where we feel we are executing well. "
The Eagles step out of Southern Conference action Tuesday evening, traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., to face North Florida before returning to Hanner Fieldhouse and SoCon opponents next weekend.
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