STATESBORO – Brooke Lynne Watts tallied 34 kills and nine digs to lead Murray State to a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-14) volleyball win over Georgia Southern in the final game of the Eagle Invitational Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Eagles of the Match
Christina Walton finished with a career-high 12 kills and added four blocks while hitting .667 for the Eagles (4-3). Baylor Bumford collected nine kills and seven blocks, and Rebekah Farthing tallied 13 digs. 

Key Moments
With the score knotted 18-18 in the first set, Watts posted three straight kills and five overall in a 6-2 Murray State run that opened a 24-20 advantage. The Eagles fought off three set points before a GS hitting error gave the Racers (5-3) the 25-23 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Murray State fought off three set points in the second before a kill by Maddie Bryant gave the Eagles the set, 25-23, and tied the match 1-1. Murray State raced out to a 10-4 lead in the third set, and the Eagles never got closer than two points as the Racers took the frame 25-19. Murray State never trailed in the fourth and scored five straight points to open a 14-6 cushion.

Stats of the Match
Watts was credited with 62 of Murray State's 156 attack attempts and hit .387 for the match. Georgia Southern held a 15-6 advantage in blocks. It was the first loss at home this season for the Eagles.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"It was a disappointing result this afternoon. I thought we came out pretty flat and struggled early to establish any sort of rhythm. That's on me to have us better prepared on the quick turnaround. Credit to Murray State; they just outworked and outplayed us. We talked about how we can use this as a teachable moment moving forward, still plenty of season left to build into and get better. We're looking forward to seeing a packed Hanner next weekend!"

Next up
Georgia Southern hosts the GATA Challenge in Hanner Fieldhouse next weekend with four matches on Friday and two on Saturday.