Box Score (PDF)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Moriah Bellissimo (right) posted 17 kills and eight digs, and Georgia Southern overcame a slow start to top College of Charleston 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-20) in Southern Conference volleyball action Friday night in TD Arena.
It was the seventh straight win for the Eagles (19-6, 10-1 SoCon), who move ahead of the Cougars and into first place in the SoCon South Division.
Meredith Paskert tallied 13 kills, two aces and three blocks for Georgia Southern, and Kym Coley had 11 kills and three blocks. Crysten Curry added nine kills and eight blocks, and Alexandra Beecher collected 23 digs and six assists. Kate Van Dyke finished with 47 assists and 11 digs.
Darcy Dorton led the Cougars (18-7, 9-2 SoCon) with 14 kills to go along with 10 digs, and Melissa Morello posted eight kills and 11 digs.
The Eagles held the Cougars to a .117 hitting percentage in the match and posted 12 team blocks. The Cougars hit -.056 in set two and .000 in set three.
"We showed great resilience after a rocky start and were able to settle into a good rhythm as the match wore on," said Georgia Southern coach Chad Callihan. "I thought our defense helped turn the match and that Alex (Beecher) had one of her better matches of the season."
The Eagles committed four attack errors in the early going as College of Charleston jumped out to an 11-4 lead en route to capturing the first set 25-16.
Georgia Southern turned the tables in the second set, and Coley got two kills and two blocks to lead the Eagles to an early 12-5 advantage. The Cougars trimmed the margin to 13-12, but Curry got two kills and combined with Bellissimo for a block to stymie the rally and help push the margin to 19-13. CofC never got closer than five points the rest of the way as the Eagles tied the match 1-1.
Leading 9-8 in the third set, Georgia Southern used a 10-3 run to open a 19-11 cushion. Curry and Paskert had two blocks during the run, and Curry combined with Jamie DeRatt for a third. The rookie also posted two kills during the stretch, and Bellissimo added two as well. The Cougars cut the margin to 20-13, but the Eagles outscored them 5-2, with two kills by Paskert, one from Curry and one from DeRatt, the rest of the way take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Eagles used a 5-1 run to turn a one-point advantage into a 19-13 lead the fourth set. Paskert started the run with a kill, and the Eagles went on to score four straight points during freshman Katalin Minnerly's serve. CofC cut the lead to 21-19, but Paskert answered with a kill and served for two points, the last on an ace, for match point. Dorton got a kill for the Cougars to make the score 24-20 but had a hitting error on the next play to end the contest.
"We have a lot of respect for Charleston and what they do so this was a great win for our program," said Callihan. "We will look to build off this as we prepare for The Citadel."
The Eagles play the Bulldogs on the road tomorrow at 6 p.m.
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