Eagles Thwart Winthrop, 3-0
9/18/2010 2:16:00 AM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. – On day two of the SpringHill Suites Invitational, the Georgia Southern Volleyball team defeated the Winthrop Eagles in dominant fashion, taking the match in three sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-23). An Eagle trio led the attack as Georgia Southern combined for a .352 attack percentage. The sweep pushed Georgia Southern back to .500 on the season with a 6-6 record, while Winthrop drops to 3-8.
“We played probably our best match this evening against a good opponent. We knew Winthrop would do some very good things coming into the match,” said Head Coach Chad Callihan. “I'm really excited with how we executed this evening and hopefully we can keep it up over the next few days and continue to get better throughout the season.”
For the 11th time this season, junior outside hitter Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led the Eagles in kills. Sanford hit .448 with 14 kills and one error on 29 attempts, and notched a match-high 16 digs. Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) followed with 13 kills for a .500 clip. Sophomore setter Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) serviced the attack with 45 assists to go along with eight digs and one kill.
Leading the way for Winthrop was Kaley Viola and Carolyn Weed, each posting 11 kills, while Sara Felts added 10. Kelsey Hall recorded 27 assists and Kelsey Harrison posted 13 digs.
Winthrop managed to keep a tight hold on the Eagles to open the first frame, erasing a two-point deficit, knotting the score at 5-all. But Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) sparked a trio of Georgia Southern kills that handed the Eagles an 8-5 lead. Winthrop closed to within two points, but Georgia Southern held strong, pulling away with a comfortable 16-10 lead. Georgia Southern closed the set, 25-20 using 16 kills to take the early match lead.
Set two witnessed both teams battling back-and-forth throughout with neither team leading by more than three points until the 22-19 mark. A Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) kill and Winthrop attack error handed set point to Georgia Southern at 24-19. Winthrop fought off one set point on a Viola kill, but Nelson sealed the set win with a kill for a 25-20 score. Georgia Southern sided out at a 71 percent clip and hit .372 for the frame. Nelson led the Eagles with seven kills, hitting .600 with only one error.
Winthrop held the early lead in what became the final set when Georgia Southern fought back, claiming its final lead at 9-8. Using a 3-0 run, the Eagles took an 18-14 advantage, but a late Winthrop run pulled the set score to 23-22. Small gave Georgia Southern match point with a kill, but once again Winthrop was able to hold Georgia Southern off with a Carolyn Weed kill. In true fashion, Bellissimo opened and closed the match for the Eagles, giving them their first and last kill of the match, sealing the win with a 25-23 third set victory.
Georgia Southern plays two matches tomorrow, opening the day against East Tennessee State at 10 a.m. and closes out the tournament against Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. For a full tournament schedule and complete tournament information, please visit the tournament website by clicking here.
Earlier Action
Below are the results from the day's earlier action.
Winthrop defeated South Alabama, 3-1(25-13, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19)
East Tennessee State defeated Charleston Southern, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-16)
South Alabama defeated East Tennessee State, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18)
“We played probably our best match this evening against a good opponent. We knew Winthrop would do some very good things coming into the match,” said Head Coach Chad Callihan. “I'm really excited with how we executed this evening and hopefully we can keep it up over the next few days and continue to get better throughout the season.”
For the 11th time this season, junior outside hitter Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led the Eagles in kills. Sanford hit .448 with 14 kills and one error on 29 attempts, and notched a match-high 16 digs. Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) followed with 13 kills for a .500 clip. Sophomore setter Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) serviced the attack with 45 assists to go along with eight digs and one kill.
Leading the way for Winthrop was Kaley Viola and Carolyn Weed, each posting 11 kills, while Sara Felts added 10. Kelsey Hall recorded 27 assists and Kelsey Harrison posted 13 digs.
Winthrop managed to keep a tight hold on the Eagles to open the first frame, erasing a two-point deficit, knotting the score at 5-all. But Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) sparked a trio of Georgia Southern kills that handed the Eagles an 8-5 lead. Winthrop closed to within two points, but Georgia Southern held strong, pulling away with a comfortable 16-10 lead. Georgia Southern closed the set, 25-20 using 16 kills to take the early match lead.
Set two witnessed both teams battling back-and-forth throughout with neither team leading by more than three points until the 22-19 mark. A Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) kill and Winthrop attack error handed set point to Georgia Southern at 24-19. Winthrop fought off one set point on a Viola kill, but Nelson sealed the set win with a kill for a 25-20 score. Georgia Southern sided out at a 71 percent clip and hit .372 for the frame. Nelson led the Eagles with seven kills, hitting .600 with only one error.
Winthrop held the early lead in what became the final set when Georgia Southern fought back, claiming its final lead at 9-8. Using a 3-0 run, the Eagles took an 18-14 advantage, but a late Winthrop run pulled the set score to 23-22. Small gave Georgia Southern match point with a kill, but once again Winthrop was able to hold Georgia Southern off with a Carolyn Weed kill. In true fashion, Bellissimo opened and closed the match for the Eagles, giving them their first and last kill of the match, sealing the win with a 25-23 third set victory.
Georgia Southern plays two matches tomorrow, opening the day against East Tennessee State at 10 a.m. and closes out the tournament against Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. For a full tournament schedule and complete tournament information, please visit the tournament website by clicking here.
Earlier Action
Below are the results from the day's earlier action.
Winthrop defeated South Alabama, 3-1(25-13, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19)
East Tennessee State defeated Charleston Southern, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-16)
South Alabama defeated East Tennessee State, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18)
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