STATESBORO– Georgia Southern volleyball (4-0) continued its hot start to the season, taking down George Washington (0-4) and Charleston (1-5) in its first two matches of the Eagle Invitational on Friday.
G1: Georgia Southern 3 (25-17, 25-12, 25-16), George Washington 0
After losing the first point, the Eagles stormed out of the gates to an early 6-1 advantage.
While the Revolutionaries made it as close as 1, a pair of early
Chamblee Russell kills put GS up four, taking the lead for good, winning 25-17.
Reagan Barth chipped in four kills in the opening stanza.
Georgia Southern once again was on the attack in the second set, using a 6-0 run to close out GW 25-12. Russell impressed with five kills and a block in the frame.
The Revolutionaries ultimately could not fight back against the home team in the third, despite taking a 10-9 lead in the middle.
A 5-0 charge, with kills from
Jordan Christy,
Jillian Gray and
Reagan Barth gave the Eagles a lead they'd never relinquish, winning the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
"I thought we came out with a ton of energy," head coach
Chad Willis said. "We talked in practice about getting better every single day, and that culminated today in taking care of all our priorities."
Barth paced the floor with ten kills, while Russell had nine and Gray had six.
Megan Vickery contributed four blocks.
G2: Georgia Southern 3 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18), Charleston 1 (28-26)
Despite losing the first set in a hard-fought 28-26 bout, coming from down 24-20 to force extra points, the Eagles took the final three from the Cougars, extending the season-opening win streak to four.
Falling behind 17-14 in the second set, Georgia Southern went on a 6-1 run to take the lead and never gave it up, winning 25-19. The final stages of the set were highlighted by three Christy kills, who finished with a career-high 17 in the match.
"I'm exhilarated after that," Christy said. "That was a lot of fun, the whole team battled the whole time."
The Eagles won the final two sets 25-19 and 25-18, largely thanks to
Paige Powers' presence off the bench. Powers contributed ten kills and five aces in the last three sets.
"We talk a lot about being connected and being ready to come in and serve as an energy source, and credit to Paige for doing that," Willis said. "She played like a junior, she has a lot of experience, and I think that shows the depth of our team."
Multiple Eagles set new career bests in the match.
Ashlyn Lovett's 28 digs were a new career mark, while Gray's 17 kills also paced her career best, which was eight heading into the match.
The win against Charleston was win number 549 in program history, one from 550. One more win will also tie the program record for most wins to begin a season, which was set in 1992.
The team closes the Eagle Invitational on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., playing host to Stetson, who also won its first two games in the tournament.
