Box Score // Tourney Central

STATESBORO, Ga. – Jamie DeRatt collected 13 kills and 10 digs, and Georgia Southern held High Point to an .098 hitting percentage to earn a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20) volleyball victory over the Panthers Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Kym Coley finished with nine kills, and Katie Bange recorded seven for the Eagles (7-2). Alexandra Beecher led the way with a match-high 16 digs, and Lauren LaRocque tallied 10. Crysten Curry added seven blocks.

Kristin Heldt had seven kills to lead High Point (4-5), and Chelsea Davis registered six kills and 12 digs.

The Panthers managed just 28 kills in 112 swings as a team and had 17 hitting errors to go along with 11 serving errors. Georgia Southern had its own struggles offensively and hit .131 in the match but used 59 team digs and 7.5 blocks to help earn the win.

"We executed our game plan very well," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. "We were undisciplined at times, but overall, it was a good back-row effort. A lot of scrappiness from both sides made it a fun match to watch."

The first set was back and forth from the beginning, and High Point took a late 22-21 lead on an Eagle hitting error. Georgia Southern came back with two straight DeRatt kills, and Heldt tied the score 23-23 with a kill. After Curry got a kill for the Eagles, Katalin Minnerly's serve tipped the net and fell over for an ace to give the Eagles the first set, 25-23.

The Eagles scored five straight points during DeRatt's serve early in the second set to open a 6-1 cushion. High Point rallied back and tied the score 17-17 on a GSU hitting error. DeRatt responded with a kill, and Georgia Southern scored four straight points on Beecher's serve to open a 22-17 advantage. DeRatt finished off the set with consecutive kills, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the match.

The score was tied 10-10 in the third set, when consecutive Bange kills ignited a 7-0 run for GSU. Six points came during DeRatt's serve, and Georgia Southern went on to open a 19-12 lead en route to winning the set 25-20.

The Eagles play two matches in Hanner Fieldhouse Saturday as part of their home tournament. Georgia Southern will take on North Dakota State at noon and face Oral Roberts at 7 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.