KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Skylar Ball tallied seven kills and four blocks while hitting .462 to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-13) volleyball win over North Dakota State in the Eagles' first match at the Tennessee Classic Friday afternoon in Thompson-Boling.

Eagles of the Match 
Ball had seven kills on 13 swings with just one error in the match, and Mya Wilson hit .353 with seven kills on 17 swings. Landon Jones led the Eagles with 17 digs.

Key stats
Georgia Southern (5-4) held the Bison (5-5) to .017 hitting in the match and gave up just 33 kills on 115 attempts. The Eagles had 46 digs and seven blocks as a team. 

Quotables from head coach Chad Willis
"I'm proud of the way we came out of the gate tonight in setting a tone for the weekend. We spent the short week really focusing on first contact, and it showed this afternoon. I thought we did a great job of pressuring from the service line and taking care of our priorities defensively. We'll look to carry that momentum into Saturday against two quality opponents."

Next up
GS takes on host Tennessee (noon) and ETSU (5 p.m.) in the tournament tomorrow. The match against the Lady Vols will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+.