STATESBORO — Despite a furious rally, the Georgia Southern volleyball fell just short on Senior Night after pushing Louisiana to the brink in falling 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 27-29, 15-13 on Friday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (19-8, 10-6 Sun Belt) shook off a slow start and roared back behind a career night from junior outside hitter
Reagan Barth, who piled up 37 kills, just one shy of the Georgia Southern single-match record. She hit .378 on 82 swings and added 17 digs in one of the most commanding two-way performances in school history.
After dropping the first two sets, Georgia Southern responded with a poised third-set win and then electrified the Hanner Fieldhouse crowd with a dramatic fourth-set rally in which they fought off a match point. Trailing late, the Eagles leaned on Barth for the final two points with a pair of kills to take the set 29-27 to force a decisive fifth set.
The Eagles carried that momentum into the final frame, jumping ahead early and trading points in a tense back-and-forth. Barth added six more kills in the fifth set, and the Eagles held a 12-11 lead before Louisiana closed by winning four of the final five points to end the match.
Barrett tallied 54 assists and 20 digs, while libero
Maddie Cugino added 24 digs to anchor a defense that collected 98 on the night. Freshman
Anna Powell contributed eight kills and 15 digs in one of her strongest matches of conference play.
The comeback attempt unfolded in front of an emotional Senior Night crowd of 688 as the program honored Barrett,
Ailie Hair and
Maggie Sale before one of the most spirited matches of the season.
Barth's 82 attempts' are the sixth-most in the Division I in a five-set match this year and her 37 kills are tied for the sixth most in a five-set match this year. The last time an Eagle had 30 or more kills in a match was Iulia Porumbescu on Aug. 26, 2005 against Campbell when she had 32. Barth fell one kill shy of tying the school record for kills in a game, held by Martina Veiglova (38 vs. Chattanooga; 10-27-01).
Barrett tied her season high with 54 assists and the 69 kills were the most by any team in the Willis era.
The Eagles will now turn their attention to the Sun Belt Tournament, which begins next week in Foley, Alabama.
