JACKSONVILLE— Georgia Southern volleyball (2-0) recorded 18 total blocks, their most in a game since the 2023 season, to grit through a five-set win against UIC (0-2) in the North Florida Sunshine Tournament finale.
"I'm proud of this team's resiliency and grit, which is a word we don't talk about a lot in our culture," head coach
Chad Willis said. "We responded to adversity and secured a true road win against a quality UNF team and followed it with a come-from-behind, five-set victory over a strong UIC team. It speaks to the level of grit we compete with every day."
The Eagles started scorching hot in the opening frame, jumping to a 9-4 lead and never looking back. GS held the Flames to a .047 hitting percentage while hitting .314 themselves.
The highlight of the set came up 18-14, where a 6-0 run, highlighted by four
Sam Bowron kills, put the Eagles into stretch drive, winning a dominant opener 25-14.
The second set was not as kind to the Eagles, who simply could not halt UIC's sideout. The Flames went up 7-1 early, and despite making it as close as 14-12 on a
Maddie Cugino ace, GS never recovered, hitting .050 and dropping the second frame 25-19.
Set three was back-and-forth for the early majority, but the Eagles briefly pulled away to lead 19-14 on a Bowron ace and again to go up 23-20 after
Alex Myers and
Maggie Sale combined on a block. However, UIC rattled off five consecutive points to stun the Eagles and go up 2-1 in the match.
GS didn't allow trailing in the match or, at one point, 12-8 in the fourth set to get them down. Myers took over from then on, notching a trio of block assists and a kill to aid in a 9-0 run to snatch the lead back. Three straight errors by the Flames put the Eagles up for good, with
Reagan Barth and
Lydia Seymour combining on a block to knot it at 25-20.
Momentum flipped to the Eagles with the score square, hitting .368 in the final set and running to an 11-4 lead that included back-to-back clutch aces by
Mayte Camacho. All the Eagles needed to do was not break, and they did just that, claiming the final set and the win over a UIC team that won 20 games last season and heading back home 2-0.
Barth once again led the way with 13 kills, but her career-best eight blocks told the story. Myers also added eight and Seymour had seven to cap off an 18-block night, the first time the Eagles had that many since 12/1/23 against Winthrop.
Bowron recorded 12 kills, her first career game with 10 or more and her first double-double, adding a career-best 15 digs.
Kirsten Barrett (40 ast., 10 digs) also added another double-double. Myers, in her second collegiate game, became the first freshman with eight or more blocks in a game since Chamblee Russell did it on 11/18/20, adding six kills, two aces and two digs.
Cugino finished the weekend with a pair of 25-dig performances, both career-highs. Her 5.57 digs per set and Barrett's 9.11 assists per set earned both All-Tournament honors.
"It was so great to be out there, I was excited," Cugino said. "I'm so happy to be a part of this team… these girls have my back and Chad is an amazing coach. Our game plan worked. I have to give all the credit to our block; they did amazing tonight."
The Eagles will return home for a four-game stand beginning on Tuesday against The Citadel.
