Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. – Kym Coley and Jamie DeRatt each collected 15 kills in leading Georgia Southern to its 20th volleyball victory of the season, a 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23) Southern Conference win over Chattanooga Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Eagles (20-3, 8-1 SoCon) have now won 20 matches in four of the last five seasons.

Coley hit .636 and added three blocks, while DeRatt contributed 13 digs and two blocks. Katie Bange finished with 13 kills and two blocks, and Nicole Jeschelnik added nine kills and 13 digs.

Katalin Minnerly recorded 47 assists and 12 digs, and Crysten Curry posted six kills and six blocks, including three solo. Alexandra Beecher notched 22 digs, and Lauren LaRocque had a season-high 15 digs.

Briana Reid led Chattanooga (3-20, 2-6 SoCon) with 13 kills and 18 digs, and Lauren Gainer posted 11 kills and two solo blocks. Melissa Green finished with a match-high 23 digs.

The Eagles hit .333 in the first set and .364 in the second to stake themselves to a 2-0 lead in the match. Georgia Southern took a quick 6-1 lead in the third set, but Chattanooga roared back with a 10-3 run, capped by a pair of aces by Kasey Talley. The Mocs took a 20-17 advantage on a GSU hitting error, but the Eagles rallied with a 5-1 run, capped by a DeRatt kill to regain a 22-21 lead.

After an Eagle serving error, Gainer got a kill for the Mocs, and a GSU hitting error made it set point. The Eagles drew within one point on a block by Coley and Christina Vereb, but Reid got a kill to give the Mocs the set.

Georgia Southern responded by scoring the first seven points of the fourth set, all on Minnerly's serve, but the Mocs rallied once again. A 9-1 run behind the serving of Anne Bachmann and Hannah Merkle gave the Mocs a 16-14 lead.

There were seven ties and three lead changes from there with the last tie coming on a Callie Hildebrand kill for the Mocs that made the score 23-23. DeRatt responded with a kill for the Eagles, and Bange followed with a kill to end the match.   

"We really played well in the first two sets and executed our game plan very well," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. "Our first touch wasn't great in the third set, but we cleaned that up in the fourth. It's good for us to be in that situation and work our way out."

The Eagles are back in action Saturday when they take on Samford at 2 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. It's Junior Eagle Club Day, and all Junior Eagle Club members get free admission by presenting their membership card.

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.