STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern seniors Jamie DeRatt and Kym Coley combined for 31 kills and a .397 hitting percentage to lead the Eagles to a 3-1 (25-20, 27-29, 25-17, 25-23) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over South Alabama in Hanner Fieldhouse Friday night.

It was the Eagles' eighth straight victory in Hanner and the 17th in the last 18th matches, dating back to last season. Coley hit .632 for the match, notching 12 kills on 19 swings without an error. DeRatt collected 19 kills and added 10 digs and two blocks.

Kat Minnerly posted 53 assists, 14 digs and four blocks for the Eagles (7-17, 6-8), and Megan Chevalier recorded 12 kills. Leah Joseph chipped in with nine kills and five blocks.

"They all played well, but the seniors really led the way," said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood.

Jessica Lewis tallied a match-high 22 kills to go along with 12 digs for South Alabama (10-13, 5-8), while Mechell Daniel registered 19 kills, 13 digs and three blocks.

With Georgia Southern leading the match 2-1, the fourth set was tightly-contested. The Eagles had a two-point working margin most of the way, but a three-point run, sparked by a Nikki Gittens kill, gave the Jaguars their first lead of the frame at 23-22. 

DeRatt responded with a kill for the Eagles, and Joseph and Minnerly followed that with a combined block to make it match point. The Jaguars called timeout, but Coley took the drama out of things by serving up an ace for the final point.

After the Jags posted a 29-27 win in the second set to tie the match, Georgia Southern responded by hitting .318 in the third set while holding South Alabama to an .031 mark. Joseph and Coley each posted three kills in the frame as Minnerly was able to get them the ball.

"We adjusted some defensive stuff and tried to spread it around on offense," said Wood. "They were keying on Kym a little bit so we tried to move her around and get Leah going as well."

Georgia Southern has a quick turnaround as the Eagles play host to Georgia State Saturday at 2 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.

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