Volleyball Sweeps State 3-0

Wednesday, October 7

Statesboro, Ga.

6:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

6-12, 1-5

Georgia State

4-12, 0-6

Georgia State

Georgia Southern

Alex Beecher had 20-plus digs for the seventh straight match.

Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

10/7/2015 9:02:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Eagles earn a half point in Southern vs. State Rivalry Series

By: Marc Gignac

STATESBORO, Ga. – Cathrine Murray collected eight kills and nine digs, and the Georgia Southern volleyball team scored the first points of the Georgia Southern – Georgia State Rivalry Series by earning a half point with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-17) Sun Belt Conference victory over the Panthers Wednesday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Katie Bange recorded six kills, 23 assists, four digs and six blocks for Georgia Southern (6-12, 1-5), while Megan Chevalier tallied seven kills and three blocks. Alex Beecher posted a match-high 22 digs, her seventh straight match with 20-plus digs.

Kitan Ajanaku tallied eight kills and three blocks for Georgia State (4-12, 0-6), and Kristina Stinson notched six kills and eight digs.

The story
The Eagles recorded eight blocks as a team and had 46 digs to hold Georgia State to .010 hitting for the match. The Panthers had a negative hitting percentage in the second and third sets with more errors than kills in each frame. The first set featured eight ties and two lead changes and went down to the wire. The Eagles broke a 19-19 tie with a 4-1 run, keyed by a Stephanie Spencer kill and a block by Bange and Reichard. The Eagles pushed to set point at 24-22, and Bange set Reichard for a kill to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the match. Georgia Southern led by as many as 12 points in the second set and scored the final five points of the third set.

Quotable from Coach Dustin Wood
"It was a great win for us to grab some momentum going into the meat of the Sun Belt season. Our kids executed our game plan at a high level tonight. We shut down their outsides and played really well defensively again. It was a great atmosphere in Hanner with it being our GATA game and televised on ESPN. We really appreciate all the student-athletes who were in attendance, supporting our team. We have great traditions here, and it was nice to get the win over Georgia State and earn a half point in the Rivalry Series. We're looking forward to getting after it on Saturday against the top team in the Sun Belt right now."

Next Up
The Eagles take on first-place Arkansas State Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Red Wolves have won 11 straight matches.

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