Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Kym Coley and Nicole Jeschelnik each had 14 kills to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (28-26, 25-21, 25-21) Southern Conference volleyball victory over Western Carolina Saturday night.

Coley only took 21 swings and hit .667 for the match, and Jeschelnik added six digs, two blocks and an ace. Jamie DeRatt tallied 13 kills and 11 digs, while Katie Bange finished with 10 kills. Alexandra Beecher had 19 digs, and Katalin Minnerly recorded 44 assists.

Jordan Timmermann led Western Carolina (15-7, 5-3) with 11 kills, and Morgan Cochran had 20 digs. Caitlin Piechota finished with nine kills and nine digs.

"I liked the way we came into tonight's match focused and dialed in on the adjustments that we made from last night," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. "We were steady the whole night and did not break down, mentally. It's great to come out of a weekend on the road 2-0."  

The Catamounts opened the match with a 6-2 run, but Jeschelnik contributed three kills and DeRatt added two in an 8-2 run for the Eagles (19-3, 7-1). Georgia Southern went on to take a 21-16 lead on a Jeschelnik kill, but this time, it was the Catamounts' turn for a run.

Three hitting errors by the Eagles aided a 7-2 spurt for Western Carolina, and the Catamounts tied the score 23-23 on a block by Timmermann and Addy George. The Eagles had three set points but could not close it out until Jeschelnik and Coley got consecutive kills for the 28-26 win.

The second set was similar to the first with Western Carolina taking an early lead and the Eagles storming back. An 8-2 run, capped by a DeRatt kill, broke an 11-11 tie and gave GSU a 19-13 cushion. Western Carolina got to within two at 22-20, but Jeschelnik answered with a kill and the Eagles went on to take the set 25-21.

Leading 6-5 in the third set, the Eagles used a 5-1 run, aided by kills from Jeschelnik and DeRatt and a block by Crysten Curry, to open a five-point lead. The Catamounts came back to make it a two-point margin at 13-11, but the Eagles ran off five points in a row to open a seven-point advantage en route to a 25-21 win.

After four straight on the road, the Eagles return to Hanner Fieldhouse for two SoCon matches next weekend. Georgia Southern will face Chattanooga Friday at 6 p.m. and Samford Saturday at 2 p.m.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.