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STATESBORO, Ga. – Lauren Reichard tallied 14 kills and seven blocks to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 25-15) Sun Belt volleyball victory over Georgia State Saturday afternoon its regular-season finale at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Both teams have earned a berth in next week's Sun Belt Tournament in Arlington, Texas. The final seeding and brackets will be announced later today.

The win gives the Eagles a full point in the Southern vs. State Rivalry series as Georgia Southern swept the Panthers in volleyball this season. Georgia State leads the competition 3-2, and two points will be on the line when the school's square off in football Nov. 19 in Atlanta.
 
Seniors Katie Bange, Alex Beecher and Leah Joseph were recognized prior to the start of today's match. Bange collected nine kills, 22 assists, six digs and four blocks for the Eagles (15-17, 7-9), and Beecher finished with a match-high 25 digs. Anna Wenger chipped in nine kills and three blocks.

Kristina Stinson led the way for the Panthers (10-17, 6-10) with 12 kills, and Morgan Hash finished with 11 kills. Celeste Friesen posted 23 digs and 10 assists.

The story
After Georgia State won the third set to make the score 2-1in the match, Georgia Southern put its foot on the gas and hit .333 with just four errors in the fourth. The Eagles jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind good serving from Kendra Koetter and Joscelin Morrow and pushed the advantage to 12-3 on a block by Wenger and Reilly Bosworth. The Panthers worked the margin down to 22-14 on a kill by Eliza Zachary but that was as close as they would get. 

Southern jumped out to an 11-3 lead to start the match, and Bosworth had to kills during the stretch. State fought back to make the score 20-15, but the Eagles ended the set on a 5-2 run on the strength of two kills by Reichard and an ace by Koetter. The Eagles had three team blocks and 22 digs in the second set to hold the Panthers to minus -.022 hitting en route to opening a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"We are starting to peak at the right time. We saw signs of it last week. We're pressing at the right time, we're doing the right things, we're making the right reads so I'm very happy with the consistent play. The kids played with no fear. That's what we're looking for, and the result was good."

On the seniors
"It's hard to let them go but Alex, Katie and Leah have been a staple here, and the dedication and everything they have gone through – they are going to be missed. They are great kids and great models of what a student-athlete should be. We're going to miss them badly, but we still have some business to take care of."

Next up
Georgia Southern heads to the Sun Belt Tournament Nov. 18-20 in Arlington, Texas, as the seventh seed. Brackets will be announced tonight.

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