STATESBORO, Ga. – Zhanelle Geathers tallied nine kills and five blocks, and UT Arlington collected 11 blocks as a team to earn a 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 26-24) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over Georgia Southern Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Megan Chevalier had 10 kills and two blocks to lead Georgia Southern (8-15, 3-8), and
Alex Beecher tallied 19 digs.
Cathrine Murray finished with seven kills and a block, and
Katie Bange collected 27 assists, four kills and five digs.
Qiana Canete was credited with eight kills and eight digs, and Cassidy Wheeler tallied 29 assists, four digs and four blocks.
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The storyThe Eagles fought back from a 22-19 deficit in the third, scoring three straight points, keyed by a
Stephanie Spencer kill and an ace by
Kat Minnerly. Georgia Southern took a 23-22 lead, but the Mavericks answered with a kill by Marisah Ingram and a Geathers kill to make it match point.
Lauren Reichard tied the score 24-24 with a kill, but an Eagle service error gave the Mavs a 25-24 edge and Geathers ended the match with a kill. Trailing 18-12 in the second set, Georgia Southern used a 5-1 run, keyed by two kills by Murray and two from Reichard, to pull to within two points. UT Arlington answered by scoring four straight points en route to winning the set 25-21. The Mavericks held the Eagles to .079 hitting for the match, and the Eagles hit -.059 in the first set.
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Quotable from Coach Dustin Wood"I was really disappointed with the way we came out in the first two sets. We had 20 hitting errors after two sets, and that's not going to win you any matches. We talked in the locker room during the break, and we played better but it was a little too late. We have to take a look at things. We were a little rusty offensively, and we didn't do a good job making adjustments this whole weekend."
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Next UpThe Eagles travel to Arkansas to take on Arkansas State Friday and Little Rock Saturday.
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