STATESBORO– Georgia Southern volleyball (15-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) recorded a key sweep of Marshall (10-12, 2-6 SBC) on Saturday, remaining in third place in the East after victories of 25-21, 25-15, 25-20.
"Our response this weekend was good, and that hearkens back to the way we prepped all week," head coach
Chad Willis said. "We've talked about putting stackable days together, and this group has done a really good job of responding all year long."
In a back-and-forth first set that saw nine ties and four lead changes, the Thundering Herd got as close as 22-21, but a quick 3-0 run for the Eagles highlighted by a
Chamblee Russell kill made it a 25-22 win.
Reagan Barth had seven kills in the opening frame.
The second set was much more in favor of the Eagles, going up as much as 19-8 over the Thundering Herd. The Eagles hit .235 during the frame and closed it out with another emphatic Barth kill.
In the third set, Marshall mounted much more on offense, but the Eagles responded nicely, coming back from down 17-12 with a 6-1 run to make it 18-18.
Ashlyn Lovett's ace up 24-20 closed out the Thundering Herd for good, sealing a 3-0 sweep.
Marshall was targeting
Callaway Cason on defense during the game, and the setter responded with her first double-double of the season, recording 18 assists and tying a career-high with 14 digs.
"I went into today sort of knowing that they were probably going to target [the setters] because of how we are in that 6-2 formation," Cason said. "My game plan was to go after every ball because that's what we do in practice."
Lovett's 20 digs moved her into eighth all-time in the Georgia Southern record books, passing Moriah Bellissimo, now sitting at 1,173 digs.
"Playing libero in all four years of your college experience is very rare, and I'm very thankful that I've gotten to do that," Lovett said. "I'm just trying to do my best to keep the ball live for my setters and hitters."
Barth's 15 kills were a match-high, and
Kirsten Barrett also checked in with 18 assists to move four away from 500 career.
The Eagles head to the road for the first time in two weeks, traveling to in-state rival Georgia State on Friday for a two-game set.
