Records, Milestones Reached in Volleyball’s Sweep of North Carolina A&T

Thursday, September 12

Statesboro, GA

6:00 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

5-1,0-0Sun Belt

North Carolina A&T

4-2,0-0CAA

N.C. A&T

Ga. Southern

Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics

Records, Milestones Reached in Volleyball’s Sweep of North Carolina A&T

9/12/2024 9:11:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Kirsten Barrett reached 1,000 career assists and Ashlyn Lovett shattered the three-set digs record in the win

STATESBORO- Kirsten Barrett reached 1,000 career assists and Ashlyn Lovett shattered the three-set digs record as Georgia Southern volleyball (5-1) won its fourth consecutive match in straight sets over North Carolina A&T (4-2) on Thursday.

"When we hit the red zone tonight, we found a way to win, and I think that's the great thing about this team," head coach Chad Willis said. "When it's time to dig in, they do that, and we came away with the sweep."

While the Eagles hit below .200 in the first set, eight Aggies errors paved the way for a 25-19 win. The Eagles won four of the last five points of the set aided by Reagan Barth, who had two blocks and a kill in the final four.

Trailing 18-13 in the second frame, the Eagles mounted a massive comeback. An Aggie service error tied it at 22, and the Eagles went on a 4-0 run to close it, featuring three consecutive kills by reigning Offensive Player of the Week Jillian Gray to win 25-22.

GS once again trailed by three in the final set but regained momentum. Barrett's 30th assist of the match on a Maggie Sale kill pushed her over the 1,000-assist plateau, the 15th Eagle to reach the mark in program history.

NC A&T got to set point, but the Eagles got it in gear. Two kills from Barth and an ace by Lovett sealed the Eagles' fourth consecutive victory, moving to 5-1 on the season.

Lovett's 31 digs in the match broke the three-set match record of 27 set in 2011 by Morah Bellissimo. Lovett is averaging a career-high 5.68 digs per set in the young season, and already broke the single-match digs record last season.

"That was a scrappy team, and whenever I see a scrappy team on the other side of the net, I always want to out-scrappy them," Lovett said. "I try to lead by example and do that so the others on the team around me will do the same, and in a high-intensity defensive match like tonight, our offense put it away."

Lovett became the fourth player in team history to surpass the 1,500 digs mark and needs 32 more to pass Alexis Dankulic for third all-time. The senior also sits at 99 career aces.

Gray (15) and Barth (12) led the attacking front, and Barth also chipped in 15 digs and four blocks for another double-double. Barrett's 37 assists pushed her career total to 1,007.

GS hit .238 and held the Aggies to a .171 mark in the victory.

The Eagles will look to continue the streak at 6:30 on Friday against Charleston Southern.