ATLANTA – Lauren Reichard tallied 11 kills, three blocks and hit .611 in the match to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 26-28, 25-21) Sun Belt volleyball victory over Georgia State Thursday evening.

The win gives the Eagles a half point in the Southern vs. State Rivalry series, and the other half will be decided when the teams meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Katie Bange posted 10 kills, 23 assists and two blocks for Georgia Southern (14-17, 6-9), and Cathrine Murray notched nine kills, five aces and 11 digs. Anna Wenger had nine kills and two blocks, and Alex Beecher chipped in 27 digs.

Eliza Zachary had 16 kills and two blocks for Georgia State (10-16, 6-9), and Sydney Stroud chipped in 12 kills. Celeste Friesen finished with 21 digs.

The story
Leading 2-1 in the match, the Eagles scored three straight points to break a 19-19 tie in the fourth set, aided by kills from Bosworth and Wenger. Another kill by Wenger made it set point, and after the Panthers got a point, Reichard put down a kill to end the match.

The Eagles jumped out to an early lead in the first set and extended the margin to 20-10 on a Bange kill before State made a run. A 12-4 spurt by the Panthers brought the margin to 24-22, but after a Southern timeout, State committed a service error to end the set.

A 7-2 run by the Eagles with two kills by Reichard pushed a two-point lead to an 18-11 cushion in the second set. After the Panthers cut the margin to 20-15, Southern finished the set with a 5-2 run, keyed by a block and an ace by Bange and a kill by Stephanie Spencer.

Southern led 22-18 in the third, but the Panthers stormed back with a 5-1 run, keyed by two Stroud kills, and tied the score 23-23. The teams traded the next two points, and Southern fought off two set points before Zachary posted consecutive kills to give the Panthers the set.

Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"I'm very are happy with our team's performance and focus tonight. We came out firing on all cylinders in the first two sets. We executed the game plan very well offensively tonight. Kendra and Katie did a great job managing the match. They both did a great job at practice this week of working on the right things. I'm so proud of them." 

"Lauren was at .611 and was a force, and Beecher held the back row defense together. Cathrine put on a serving clinic and played with so much confidence out of a timeout in the fourth set. We called timeout in the fourth, and our staff did a great job of changing the demeanor of our players. The players played with a confidence that we have been looking for during the season. We came out of the timeout and finished the match at a very high level. It was nice to be in control most of the match. I'm proud of our kids and staff. They worked very hard this week to get better, and we saw the results tonight."

"Our program realizes how important this rivalry series is against Georgia State. We are happy we got the first part of our series, and we are looking forward to competing on Saturday for the full point. I'm am also excited to recognize our three seniors in their final home match. Katie, Beecher and Leah (Joseph) have all had positive and lasting impacts on our program. We are looking forward to celebrating them and thanking them for all that they have done for our program, university and community."

Next up
The Eagles cap the regular season with a home contest against Georgia State Saturday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse, and Georgia Southern will honor three seniors prior to the match on Senior Day. 

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