Volleyball Opens Bash in Boro with 3-0 Win over Central Michigan

Friday, September 20

Statesboro, Ga.

7 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

10-2

Central Michigan

5-6

Central Michigan

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

Volleyball Opens Bash in Boro with 3-0 Win over Central Michigan

9/20/2013 9:36:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Marc Gignac

| Tourney central

STATESBORO, Ga. – Nicole Jeschelnik tallied a match-high 13 kills, and Jamie DeRatt added 11 kills and nine digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24) volleyball victory over Central Michigan in the Bash in the Boro Tournament in Hanner Fieldhouse Friday night.

Katalin Minnerly had 28 assists to go along with nine digs for the Eagles (10-2), and Alexandra Beecher finished with 13 digs.

Kaitlyn McIntyre recorded nine kills and seven digs to lead Central Michigan (5-6), and Jenna Coates posted a match-high 14 digs.

With Central Michigan setting blocks on the Eagle middles most of the night, Minnerly was forced to go to the outside hitters. Right side Katie Bange also put down six balls, giving the GSU outside attack 30 of its 41 kills.

"We have four options when we're in system, which is a lot of pressure coming at the opposite side," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. "It puts a lot of pressure on the block and forces them to make a quick decision, especially if we're moving fast. We're getting better with our speed, and Kat (Minnerly) did a good job running the offense tonight."

The Eagles were also solid defensively, holding CMU to .104 hitting as a team, including -.043 in the second set.

After a kill by DeRatt broke a 6-6 tie in the first set, GSU won three straight points on Beecher's serve to open a 10-6 lead. The Chippewas worked back within a point at 22-21 on a Hallie Enderle kill, but Jeschelnik got a sideout with a kill and Lauren LaRocque served up consecutive aces as the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the match.

Meghan Morillo proved to be the hot server for Georgia Southern in the second set as the Eagles scored six consecutive points on the sophomore's serve to open a 9-3 cushion. The margin never dipped below four points from there, and four Jeschelnik kills in the frame helped the Eagles open a 2-0 lead in the match.

After Georgia Southern gained an 18-12 cushion following a Crysten Curry kill in the third set, the Chippewas used a 10-3 run to take a 22-21 lead. Back and forth the score went from there, and an Enderle kill knotted things up at 24-24. DeRatt answered with a kill, and Curry and Jeschelnik combined for a block to give the Eagles the win.

The Bash in the Boro continues Saturday, and the Eagles will take on Jackson State at noon and Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. The noon match will be the Faculty/Staff Appreciation game, and all faculty and staff can get a free ticket with their Georgia Southern ID and will be honored at halftime. The night contest is Residence Hall Night, and the dorm with the most people in attendance gets free pizza.

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.