Volleyball Tops ULM 3-0 for Second Straight Sun Belt Win

Friday, October 17

Statesboro, Ga.

6 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

4-15, 4-6Sun Belt

UL Monroe

6-16, 1-9Sun Belt

UL Monroe

Georgia Southern

Avery Stephens collected career highs of 24 digs and seven assists.

Photo by: Tim Cowie

10/17/2014 8:23:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Eagles play host to UL Lafayette Sunday at noon in Hanner

By: Marc Gignac

STATESBORO, Ga. – Jamie DeRatt posted 12 kills and 11 digs, while Avery Stephens added career highs of 24 digs and seven assists to lead Georgia Southern to its second straight Sun Belt Conference victory, a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 28-26) sweep of UL Monroe Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Megan Chevalier finished with nine kills, and Kym Coley notched eight for the Eagles (4-15, 4-6). Kat Minnerly tallied her ninth double-double of the campaign with 31 assists and 11 digs.

Hope Pawlik and Hadley Swartz each had 11 kills to lead ULM (7-16, 1-9), while Bayleigh Hoffman contributed 26 assists and 11 digs.

The Eagles hit .223 with just 15 errors while digging up 65 balls and holding the Warhawks to an .098 hitting percentage.

Georgia Southern led for the entire first set en route to a 1-0 advantage in the match but trailed 20-16 in the second frame. Chevalier had two kills, while Leah Joseph and DeRatt added one each to spark a 7-1 run, putting the Eagles ahead 23-21. ULM got two straight points to tie the score but Hoffman served it into the net for set point. Stephens followed that with an ace to give Georgia Southern a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Eagles jumped out to an 8-1 cushion in the third set, but ULM came all the way back and tied the score 23-23. A block by Pawlik and Kimberlie Alvarado made it set point for the Warhawks, but DeRatt came back with a kill for Georgia Southern. With the score tied 26-26, Cathrine Murray put down consecutive kills for Georgia Southern to end the match.

"We executed when it mattered the most, and that's why we came out with a win," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. "We just need to eliminate the four-point runs that are going against us and clean some things up."

The Eagles are back in action in Hanner Fieldhouse Sunday when they host UL Lafayette in a Sun Belt Conference match. First serve is set for noon.

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