STATESBORO, Ga. – Katie Bange tallied a triple-double with 15 kills, 18 assists and 10 digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 19-25, 25-22) volleyball victory over Charleston Southern in the final match of the day at the Bash in the Boro in Hanner Fieldhouse Thursday.

The Eagles (2-3) topped Jacksonville State 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 27-25) earlier in the afternoon behind seven kills, five service aces and three blocks from Lauren Reichard. Cathrine Murray tallied 23 kills on the day to go over the 500 mark for her career.

Georgia Southern held both of their opponents under the .100 mark in hitting percentage while combining to hit .269 in the two matches.

The story vs. Charleston Southern 
Leading the match 2-1, the Eagles used a 5-2 run, keyed by three Murray kills, to take control of the fourth set. Georgia Southern pushed the margin to 24-17, but Charleston Southern would not go quietly and ran off five straight points to trim the margin to 24-22. Bange answered by putting the finishing touches on the match with a kill off a Kendra Koetter assist.

The Eagles led by as many as 10 points in the first set and 13 in the second frame while cruising to a 2-0 lead in the match. Charleston Southern ratcheted up its serving in the third set and posted five aces. After an Anna Wenger kill brought the Eagles within one point at 19-18, the Buccaneers ran off five straight points behind the serve of Hannah Western and took the set 25-19.

Murray led the team with a match-high 16 kills to go along with 13 digs, and Koetter finished with 33 assists and nine digs. Reichard posted 13 kills and four blocks and hit .667 for the match, and Alex Beecher collected 18 digs.

The story vs. Jacksonville State
The Eagles were stout defensively and on their serve as Jacksonville State hit just .082 for the match and posted a negative percentage in the first two sets. Down 23-20 in the third set, Georgia Southern rallied to tie the score 24-24 on a kill by Reichard. Charis Ludtke got a kill for the Gamecocks, but Bange answered with a kill for the Eagles. Reichard served up an ace to make it match point, and Murray ended it with a kill.

After the Eagles ran away with the first set, Reichard served for six straight points in the second set, sparking a 7-0 Georgia Southern run. Bange posted a team-high nine kills, 14 assists and three blocks, while Stephanie Spencer and Murray each recorded seven kills.

Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"First of all, it's nice to be home, and we got a total team effort today. We played two ranked teams in a tough environment last week, and they exposed our weaknesses. We worked on those things this week, and we did a nice job of making those changes today."

"We picked up a lot of balls tonight - I think we had five or six kids close to double-digit digs. That creates opportunities, and we were able to put the ball away tonight."

Next Up
The Bash in the Boro continues tomorrow with five matches in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles will take on Savannah State at 1 p.m. and cap the tournament with a 7 p.m. contest against The Citadel. 
 
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