Box Score CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Kalah Jones posted 16 kills and six digs, and Janelle Sykes added 14 kills to lead VCU to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-13, 24-26, 25-23) volleyball victory over Georgia Southern in the first match of the Carolina Classic in Carmichael Arena Friday afternoon.
Jamie DeRatt tallied 20 kills and eight digs for the Eagles (0-7), and
Megan Chevalier collected a career-high 16 kills and seven digs.
Kym Coley notched 10 kills and
Kat Minnerly finished with 50 assists and 10 digs. It was the seventh 50-plus assist match of the junior's career.
Jessica Young added 11 kills for VCU (2-5), and Cecilia Aragao posted 48 assists and seven digs.
"We only had one lineup to go with tonight because of injuries, and our young players got a chance to gain experience on the floor, which will help them in the future," said Georgia Southern coach
Dustin Wood. "Jamie and Kym produced but overall, we were a little up and down. Things are not going our way right now, but we will learn from this adversity and it will make us stronger mentally."
The match was back-and-forth throughout, save for the second set. The Eagles trailed the match 2-1 and were tied 23-23 in the fourth set after a kill by Coley. VCU answered with a Jones kill, and an Eagle attack error ended the set and the match.
Georgia Southern trailed 21-18 late in the first but scored two in a row on a DeRatt kill and a Ram hitting error. After an Eagle serving error, Sykes put down a kill for VCU to make the margin 23-20, but Coley answered with consecutive kills for the Eagles. A Georgia Southern attack error made it set point, and Nora Reed put down the final kill for VCU.
Down 2-0 in the match in the third set, DeRatt broke a 23-23 tie with a kill, but VCU answered with a kill by Jones. DeRatt put the Eagles back on top with a kill, and the Rams were whistled for a ball-handling error to end the set.
Georgia Southern plays two matches tomorrow in the Carolina Classic, taking on host North Carolina, which is ranked 17th in the country, at noon in Carmichael Arena. The Eagles also face No. 16 Kentucky at 5 p.m.
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