Volleyball’s Season Comes to a Close in Heartbreaker against Northern Colorado

Saturday, December 7

Statesboro, GA

4:00 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

22-7,10-4Sun Belt

Northern Colorado

27-7,14-2Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Ga. Southern

Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics

Volleyball’s Season Comes to a Close in Heartbreaker against Northern Colorado

12/7/2024 11:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Powers ties career-high with 17 kills, Eagles finish season 22-7

STATESBORO— Despite outhitting its opponent and recording five more blocks, Georgia Southern volleyball (22-7, 10-4 SBC) saw its incredible season come to a close at the hands of Northern Colorado (27-7, 14-2 Big Sky) in five sets on Saturday.

"Not the result we wanted tonight, but we're so proud of how the team battled," head coach Chad Willis said. "So many aspects of this season and these seniors that genuinely put a smile on my face knowing how much they've worked and given to this program and the progress we continue to make on and off the court. I am sad about the result, but I'm fulfilled because of these people. Thank you, Eagle Nation, for being there with us every step of the way. There is no place else!"

The Eagles got off to a slow start in the first set, falling down 4-0. Despite making it a one-point match multiple times, the Bears kept distance for the remainder, winning 25-18.

GS locked in during the second set, hitting over .300. A pair of errors by the visitors put the Eagles up 8-5, and the team never looked back from there, responding with a 25-18 win of their own after a Bears service error.

Both teams hit over .300, with the Eagles hitting .382. Getting to set point and leading 24-22 after a Paige Powers kill, the Bears stormed to a 4-0 run, winning it 26-24. There was a prolonged review during the frame.

Leading 20-14 in the fourth set, the Eagles rattled off five straight points, including a pair of aces from Kirsten Barrett and a block by Maggie Sale to knot things up at two and force a decisive fifth set.

Powers recorded a kill to make the fifth set 4-1 early, but the Bears ran back in front and never trailed from that point, going on a crucial 4-0 run to lead 12-8. The Eagles scored the next two but were snuffed out after, falling 15-10 and 3-2 in the match.

GS saw three of its seniors have strong performances in their final game - Powers led the way by tying a career-best with 17 kills to finish with 751 for her career, adding eight digs. Jillian Gray had 15 kills and 10 digs to add her tenth career double-double, closing with 635 career kills. Ashlyn Lovett had another 29 digs to finish second all-time on the career list with 1,950 - leaving as one of the best liberos in school history.

Barrett's 44 assists pushed her to 1,011 for the season - the first Eagle with over 1,000 assists in a season since Kat Minnerly in 2014. Mayte Camacho recorded her first game with ten or more digs, adding 11.

The Eagles finish 2024 22-7 with a 15-1 record on their home turf and will look ahead to the 2025 season.