Volleyball Wins GATA Challenge

Saturday, September 17

Statesboro, Ga.

1 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

8-4,0-0Sun Belt

Chattanooga

5-9,0-0SoCon

Chattanooga

Ga. Southern

Ashlyn Lovett was named tournament MVP.

Photo by: AJ Henderson / Georgia Southern

9/17/2022 5:51:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Eagles open Sun Belt play at Arkansas State next weekend.

By: Marc Gignac

STATESBORO – Jordan Christy notched a career-high 15 kills, and Ashlyn Lovett collected 23 digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21) volleyball win over Chattanooga in the final match of the GATA Challenge Saturday in Hanner Fieldhouse.

The win gave the Eagles (8-4) three on the weekend, and Lovett was named the tournament MVP. Baylor Bumford and Callaway Cason joined the sophomore on the all-tournament team.

Eagles of the Match
Bumford finished with 13 kills and two solo blocks, and Emily Jarome posted 12 kills and eight digs. Grace Underwood tallied 11 kills and six blocks, and Paige Powers totaled 11 kills. Cason finished with 52 assists, 14 digs and three blocks.

Key moments
Trailing 2-1 in the match, Chattanooga led 21-20 in the fourth set, but Undwerwood tied the score with a kill and Bumford put the Eagles ahead 22-21. Jarome chipped in with consecutive kills, and a ball-handling error on the Mocs finished a 5-0 run and ended the match.

The Eagles trailed 7-1 in the second set, but Jarome and Christy put down kills in a 5-0 GS run to get back in it. Trailing 14-11, Christy and Powers each posted two kills in a 7-2 Eagle run to open an 18-15 lead. The Mocs got the next point, but GS scored the next seven to win the set as Jarome and Underwood each tallied a kill and a block.

Key stats
The Eagles tallied a season-high 84 digs and added nine blocks to hold Chattanooga to .165 hitting. Meredith Eckard (12) and Rebekah Farthing (13) had double-figure digs along with Lovett and Cason.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"It's great to finish off the tournament and the weekend with a win. I thought we did a really nice job of staying the course against an opponent who honestly out-worked us in stretches. We were able to dial things in offensively and continued to pressure them late in the 4th from the service line. Lots of momentum and learning opportunities as we move ahead towards Sun Belt play."

Next up
The Eagles open Sun Belt Conference play on the road next weekend when they travel to Arkansas State for a pair of matches. Friday's match is set for a 7 p.m. ET start, and Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m. ET.