STATESBORO— Georgia Southern volleyball (22-6, 10-4 SBC) charged past SEMO (19-14, 15-3 OVC) on the strength of 12 blocks, including a career-high eight from redshirt sophomore Maggie Sale, sweeping the NIVC opening round.

"We did a great job executing the game plan, and as the match went on, I thought we did a much better job of putting service pressure on them," head coach Chad Willis said. "We disrupted what they were trying to do offensively, and Hanner had great energy tonight."

It was all Eagles early on in the first frame. Kirsten Barrett's ace gave the Eagles a 9-5 lead after a 6-0 run, which was further pushed to 17-11 following Paige Powers' kill. The Redhawks immediately countered with a 7-1 run to knot things at 18.

A strong battle ensued in the following points, with the teams trading markers and pushing past 25. Tied at 26, Reagan Barth slammed consecutive kills to win the first set 28-26.

GS turned on the burners in the next two sets. Hitting .400 in the second stanza, the Eagles went on an early 8-0 run to set the tone, leading 10-2 after another Powers kill. The lead was furthered to 22-11 after a pair of Barth aces and ended as a 25-13 win for the Eagles.

Four total blocks by Maggie Sale highlighted what was ultimately the final set, holding SEMO to a -.067 hitting mark. Two in a row kicked off a decisive 11-0 run in the middle to lead 22-8, and it was all Eagles from there.

Claire Smith sent down her first kill since September to get to set point, and Powers followed with another, winning 25-13 and the match 3-0 - the first-ever postseason win at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Barth (13 kills, 11 digs) recorded her 20th career double-double, and Jillian Gray (11 kills, 13 digs) added her ninth.

Sale contributed eight kills and a career-high eight blocks and now has 18 over the last three games.

"We work every day to keep our block disciplined and to work on our hands, and I think today showed that," Sale said. "We handled things at the net today."

Ashlyn Lovett headed up the defensive corps with 18 digs, while Barrett added 36 assists and a career-high five aces in the win. Barrett is now 33 assists from becoming the first Eagle since Kat Minnerly in 2014 to reach the 1,000 mark in a single season.

The Eagles will face Northern Colorado on Saturday at 4 p.m. after the Bears knocked out App State.