Volleyball Defeats Troy 3-1 to Finish Week?
8/26/2012 6:40:22 PM | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – Moriah Bellissimo tallied a career-high 19 kills, and Jamie DeRatt matched her career best with 14 kills to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-11, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23) volleyball victory over Troy Sunday morning at the Benson Hospitality Bulldog Invitational.
Bellissimo hit .400 and added 11 digs and three blocks for the Eagles (2-1), and DeRatt hit .324 with nine digs and two assists. Kym Coley posted 11 kills and four blocks, while Enjoli Johnson and Meredith Paskert each had nine kills and three blocks.
Kate Van Dyke recorded 48 assists, 21 digs and three aces, and Alexandra Beecher collected 15 digs.
Blair Winston had 11 kills to lead Troy (0-3), and Breanna Cullity finished with nine. Courtney Cohen notched a match-high 29 digs.
"Overall, it was a solid first weekend for the team," said Eagle coach Chad Callihan. "Every team in the country is learning how to play as a team, and we are no different. I think this team has some intangibles that will allow them to continue to improve as the season progresses."
Leading the match 2-1, Georgia Southern trailed 6-4 early in the fourth set but used a 10-2 run to open a 14-8 advantage. A pair of kills from Paskert and Coley sparked the stretch, while Paskert and Katalin Minnerly added service aces. The Trojans battled back, trimming the lead to 24-23 with the help of kills by Winston and Cullity, but Van Dyke clinched the match with an unassisted kill.
Georgia Southern jumped all over Troy in the first set and hit .412 as a team to cruise to a 25-11 win. The Eagles ran off the first six points of the frame and extended the margin to 13-1 on a Coley kill. The lead grew to as many as 15 points on a Troy hitting error that made the score 19-4.
Set two saw Troy break an 18-18 tie with consecutive points on a GSU serving error and a Kayla Pickart kill. A Bellissimo kill brought the Eagles to within one point at 21-20, but Troy scored three straight points, the last coming on an Alexandra Alexander block, to put the set out of reach.
The Eagles used an early 6-1 run to distance themselves in set three. With the score tied 4-4, DeRatt, Coley, Johnson and Bellissimo contributed kills to help establish a 10-5 cushion. Troy never got closer than four points the rest of the way, and with a 20-16 lead, two kills by DeRatt sparked a 5-1 GSU run to close the set.
"I thought we set the tone well to start the match," said Callihan. "Troy played better in set two, and we didn't match their execution. I was proud of the way we played in sets three and four."
Georgia Southern returns to action at the Auburn Invitational next weekend. The Eagles open play in the tournament by taking on the host Tigers at 1 p.m.
Fans can follow their Eagles at GSEagles.com or receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at gplus.to/GSAthletics.
