GREENSBORO, N.C. - Meredith Eckard totaled six aces and 17 digs in two matches as Georgia Southern picked up a pair of volleyball wins in the Tussle in the Triad Friday in Fleming Gymnasium on the campus of UNCG.

The Eagles swept a pair of matches this afternoon with 3-0 wins over South Carolina State (25-10, 25-11, 25-16) and UNC Asheville (25-14, 25-23, 25-13).

Eagles of the Match vs. S.C. State
Jordan Christy led the team in kills with seven and added two blocks, while Megan Vickery and Grace Underwood each chipped in six kills. Callaway Cason provided 22 assists to go along with two aces, and Eckard finished with eight digs and three aces.

Key Moments vs. S.C. State
The Eagles never trailed in the match and jumped out to a 12-1 lead in the first set, a 9-1 cushion in the second set and an 11-3 advantage in the third frame.

Stats of the Match vs. S.C. State
The Eagles posted a season-high 10 aces and hit .355 in the match while holding the Bulldogs to .015.

Eagles of the Match vs UNCA
Emily Jarome tallied 13 kills and 11 digs, and Paige Powers chipped in 13 kills while hitting .440. Robin Rosser hit .423 and finished with 12 kills. Cason totaled 41 assists and three blocks, and Ashlyn Lovett collected 15 digs and two aces. Rebekah Farthing chipped in 11 digs and an ace, and Eckard had nine digs and three aces.

Key Moments vs. UNCA
The Eagles gutted out a victory in their only close set of either match as GS came from behind to win the second set. UNCA jumped out to a 4-1 cushion and led by as many as six points. With GS trailing 19-13, Powers notched three kills and Rosser added two in an 8-2 Eagle run that tied the score 21-21. After the teams traded points, Jarome and Vickery put down kills to give the Eagles set point, but a service error made the score 24-23. Jarome finished it off with a kill off a Cason assist, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the match.

Stats of the match vs. UNCA
The Eagles had nine aces to one for the Bulldogs and tallied 53 digs and seven blocks to hold UNCA to a .161 hitting percentage.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"I'm proud of the effort today; we were able to get some different lineups on the court and lean into our depth. We felt like the one thing that really stood out was first contact, specifically in serve receive and it showed offensively with the way we were able to pressure both opponents."

Next Up
GS takes on tournament host and former Southern Conference rival UNCG Saturday at 1 p.m. in its final match of the Tussle in the Triad. The contest will air live on ESPN+.