Volleyball Takes Down Campbell in Five Sets

Saturday, September 9

Buies Creek, NC

1:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

7-1,0-0Sun Belt

Campbell

3-7,0-0CAA

Ga. Southern

Campbell

9/9/2023 4:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Lovett reaches 1,000 career digs, Cason reaches 1,000 career assists as the Eagles go 2-1 in the Campbell Invitational

BUIES CREEK, N.C.– Georgia Southern volleyball (7-1) improved to winning seven of eight to start the season after taking down host Campbell (3-7) and needing all five sets to do so.

"Proud of the way our group came to battle today. I thought we were very disciplined and dialed into the game plan in sets 1 and 2," head coach Chad Willis said. "We told our group what a great learning experience to be able to stay the course, especially how connected and intentional we stayed coming into the deciding set. It was a good road weekend that will help us moving forward."

In the match, seniors Ashlyn Lovett and Callaway Cason reached career milestones, as Lovett recorded her 1,000th career dig and Cason dished her 1,000th career assist.

The first set was all Georgia Southern, as the Eagles outscored the Camels 25-9, the team's biggest set score differential of the season. Runs of 9-1 and 11-2 highlighted the Eagles' opening performance, including Ally Barnhart going 5-for-5 in attacks.

The Eagles hit an impressive .556 in the first set, the team's best hitting percentage in any set this season.

GS followed by hitting .400 in the second frame to earn a 25-17 victory and a near-decisive 2-0 spread in the match. Reagan Barth, Paige Powers and Jillian Gray each had multiple kills.

The home team stormed back to tie up the match as the Eagles cooled off a bit, losing the next two sets 25-15 and 25-18.

"Credit to Campbell for the pressure they applied to extend the match," Willis said. "[They were] a solid team fighting to defend their home court."

Georgia Southern made no mistake who would win in the final frame, as it won 15-8 thanks to back-to-back Powers kills to seal the 3-2 win for the visitors.

Cason needed exactly 20 digs to hit 1,000, which she did in the final set, and Lovett's 20 digs put her at 1,001.

Powers' 17 kills were a match and career-high, as Barth (15) and Jordan Christy (14) each had more kills than anyone on Campbell. Kirsten Barrett's 32 assists paced the Eagles, while Lovett's 20 digs also did the same.

The Eagles return home to face UNC Asheville on Tuesday.