VBALL Preview: Eagles Take on Coastal Carolina in SBC Tourney

First serve is set for 3:30 p.m.ET Friday on ESPN3.

By: Marc Gignac

Katie Bange has six triple-doubles this season.

Volleyball | 11/16/2016 9:41:00 AM

No. 7 Georgia Southern (15-17, 7-9) vs. No. 2 Coastal Carolina (24-4, 15-1)
Date: Nov. 18 - 3:30 p.m. ET - College Park Center - Live Video | Live Stats
TV: ESPN3

Georgia Southern team information
Roster | Stats | Schedule

Coastal Carolina team information
Roster | Stats | Schedule

Probable GS Lineup:
#6 Lauren Reichard
#8 Alex Beecher
#10 Cathrine Murray
#13 Katie Bange
#14 Kendra Koetter
#17 Anna Wenger
#21 Reilly Bosworth

• Georgia Southern makes its second straight appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Eagles fell to top-seeded and eventual champion Arkansas State in the first round last season.

• Georgia Southern finished third in the East Division and earned the No. 7 seed for the tournament. The Eagles will take on second-seeded Coastal Carolina, which won the East Division. The winner gets the winner of Texas State vs. South Alabama in the semifinals at 5 p.m. ET Saturday.

• Coastal Carolina swept Georgia Southern this season and owns a 10-2 all-time record against the Eagles. Georgia Southern is 3-2 in its last five, and Coastal Carolina has won 14 in a row and lost just two sets during the streak.

• Alex Beecher was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week Monday. The libero averaged 6.50 digs and 0.62 assists in a 2-0 week for the Eagles. She collected 27 digs and an assist at Georgia State Thursday and posted 25 digs and four assists against the Panthers Saturday. Beecher broke her own school record for digs in a season with 616. The old record was 604 set in 2012. It's the second time she has earned the honor from the Sun Belt this season.

• Beecher ranks seventh in the country in total digs and has 48 career matches with 20-plus digs. Already the school's all-time leader, Beecher has 2,363 digs for her career, 39 shy of moving into the top-25 in NCAA history.

• Katie Bange ranks fifth in the country and first in the Sun Belt with six triple-doubles. All six have featured kills, assists and digs.

• Lauren Reichard ranks 33rd in the country and third in the Sun Belt in total blocks with 132.

• The Eagles are 28th in the country and first in the Sun Belt in aces with 166.

• Georgia Southern finished the campaign with three straight back-to-back series as Hurricane Matthew caused some changes in the schedule. The Eagles played Georgia State, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State in back-to-back series in the last two weeks and met Troy in back-to-back matches, albeit with 10 days in between meetings, earlier in the season.

• Prior to this season, the last time Georgia Southern played the same opponent in back-to-back contests was in 2001, when the Eagles lost 3-2 to Furman at home on the last day of the regular season and topped the Paladins 3-2 in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. GS went on to win its first SoCon Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/tickets.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Katie Bange: S/RS; 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior; A5

#8 Alex Beecher: DS; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; Orlando Volleyball Academy

#14 Kendra Koetter: S/DS; 5' 8"; Sophomore; A5 18 Club Team

#10 Cathrine Murray: OH; 5' 11"; Junior; Coast

#6 Lauren Reichard: M; 6' 0"; Sophomore; Yorktowne Volleyball Club

#17 Anna Wenger: OH; 6' 0"; Junior; Yorketown

#21 Reilly Bosworth: M; 6' 1"; Freshman; Wave

Players Mentioned

#13 Katie Bange
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior; A5
: S/RS

#8 Alex Beecher
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior; Orlando Volleyball Academy
: DS

#14 Kendra Koetter
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; A5 18 Club Team
: S/DS

#10 Cathrine Murray
: 5' 11"; Junior; Coast
: OH

#6 Lauren Reichard
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; Yorktowne Volleyball Club
: M

#17 Anna Wenger
: 6' 0"; Junior; Yorketown
: OH

#21 Reilly Bosworth
: 6' 1"; Freshman; Wave
: M

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned