MACON, Ga. – Carly Turner matched her career high with 16 kills and hit .364, but Georgia Southern fell 3-1 to Nicholls State in non-conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon.

Eagles of the match
In addition to Turner, Mya Wilson posted 12 kills and four blocks while hitting a team best .409. Maddie Bryant finished with 14 kills and five digs, and Madison Brown dished out 42 assists.

Key moments
With the match tied 1-1, the Eagles had five set points in the third but could not capitalize to take the lead in the match. With the score tied 22-22, Bryant put down a kill, but Nicholls State scored the next two. Mya Wilson recorded a solo block to fight off one set point, and Baylor Bumford posted a kill for the first of five set-point chances for the Eagles. Trailing 29-28, the Colonels scored three straight to open a 2-1 lead in the match.

All-Tournament
Brown and Bryant were named all-tournament. Bryant averaged 3.50 kills a set, while Brown averaged 9.70 assists per frame.

Quotable from head coach Chad Willis
"Obviously, it's not the result we wanted today, but we continue to improve in a lot of ways as a team. Emphasizing the things we can control, especially in regard to first contact and our defensive priorities, continues to get better. Today we gave ourselves some opportunities against a very scrappy and gritty team where we just couldn't finish."

"We told the team in the locker room post match there's a lot we can learn and take away from this weekend. If we sustain the effort and energy level and stay true to the process of getting a little bit better each day, eventually we'll start finding ways to execute and close out sets."

Next up
The Eagles are slated to travel to the Bash at the Beach in Daytona Beach, Florida, next weekend (weather permitting). GS is scheduled to take on host Bethune-Cookman, USC Upstate and Texas Southern.