STATESBORO – Baylor Bumford collected 14 kills and six blocks to lead Georgia Southern to a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Queens and Saint Francis in the GATA Challenge Friday in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Eagles of the Match vs. SFU
Bumford posted eight kills to go along with three blocks and hit .727 for the match, while Grace Underwood totaled seven kills and three blocks. Paige Powers finished with nine kills and a pair of blocks, and Emily Jarome tallied eight kills, 11 digs and three blocks.

Key moments vs. SFU
The Eagles led 20-16 in the first set after consecutive kills by Bumford. Saint Francis battled back to within one at 23-22 on a Maggie Hogan kill, but the Eagles scored the next two points to win the set and open a 1-0 lead in the match.

Key stats vs. SFU
The Eagle middles combined to hit .462 in the contest, and GS outblocked SFU 9-5, holding the Red Flash to .060 hitting. Saint Francis also committed 10 serving errors compared to three for the Eagles.

Eagles of the Match vs. Queens
Jarome tallied 12 kills and 11 digs, and Jordan Christy totaled eight kills and three blocks. Callaway Cason collected 32 assists and nine digs, and Ashlyn Lovett had 17 digs.

Key moments vs. Queens
The Eagles won the first 13 points of the second set behind the serve of Lovett. Lovett tallied two aces, Christy posted three kills and Underwood put down two kills during the run.

Key stats vs. Queens
The Eagles outdug the Royals 56-45 to hold Queens to .085 hitting. GS hit .270 as a team and owned a 9-2 advantage in aces.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"I'm proud of the effort and execution today. We talked all week about controlling first contact and dialing in on little things. Each set today, I thought we built off the previous and put a lot of pressure on both teams to have to earn points. It was a good start to the weekend and positive momentum going into tomorrow."

Next up
The Eagles host Chattanooga Saturday at 1 p.m. in the final match of the GATA Challenge in Hanner Fieldhouse.