Saturday, October 11, 2014
Georgia Southern Picks up Road Win at South Alabama
MOBILE, Ala. – Jamie DeRatt tallied 14 kills, nine digs and five blocks to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (15-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over South Alabama Saturday night in Jaguar Gym.
Cathrine Murray notched 13 kills and six digs for the Eagles (3-15, 3-6), and Megan Chevalier hit .458 with 12 kills to go along with three blocks. Kym Coley tallied seven kills and five blocks, and Kat Minnerly finished with 40 assists, 11 digs and two blocks.
Mechell Daniel led South Alabama (9-10, 4-5) with 14 kills and eight digs, and Jessica Lewis posted 11 kills and two blocks.
The Eagles hit .242 for the match and had 12 team blocks.
“I’m very proud of how we finished tonight as a group,” said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. “We showed a lot of maturity and character from our younger players and our veterans and we didn’t get rattled after a bad first set.”
Georgia Southern dropped the first set 25-15 but rallied from an early 5-1 deficit in the second frame. With the scored tied 8-8, Leah Joseph and Chevalier combined for two blocks to aid a 9-2 run as the Eagles opened a seven-point lead. The margin grew to as many as 23-13 on a solo block by DeRatt as the Eagles tied the match 1-1.
The final two sets came down to the wire, and Georgia Southern made the plays to win them. Tied 23-23 in the third, Murray recorded a kill, and Avery Stephens served a tough ball that led to a Jaguar hitting error.
Georgia Southern trailed 23-21 in the fourth set but scored four straight points to win it. DeRatt began the run with a kill, and Coley and Chevalier followed with a block. Coley then put down consecutive sets from Minnerly to finish the match.
The Eagles open a three-match homestand Friday, Oct. 17, in Hanner Fieldhouse against UL Monroe. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to being home next weekend and being back in Hanner,” said Wood. “We need our fan base to come out and support us!”
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Eagle Block Hands Jaguars 3-1 Loss
MOBILE, Ala. – Georgia Southern recorded 23 blocks – one solo and 22 assists – to hand the University of South Alabama volleyball team a 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 23-25, 23-25) Sun Belt Conference loss on Saturday night at Jag Gym.
South Alabama (9-10, 4-5 SBC) will next host Arkansas-Little Rock on Sunday, Oct. 19. First serve versus the Trojans is set for noon at Jag Gym.
Mechell Daniel led the Jaguars with 14 kills and also recorded eight digs in the loss, while Jessica Lewis also finished the match in double digits with 11 kills of her own. Mallory Moore and Nikki Gittens each chipped in with seven kills apiece.
Kelly Little came off the bench to pace the club with 10 digs. USA did record seven aces on the night, led by Jenna Hassell's three.
Georgia Southern (3-15, 3-6 SBC) had three players end the match with five blocks or more. Leah Joseph paced the club in that category with six block assists. Kym Coley and Jamie DeRatt each had five total blocks in the match. Coley had five block assists, while DeRatt added a solo block and four block assists.
DeRatt also had 14 kills to lead the Eagles offensively. Cathrine Murray was right behind her with 13 kills of her own and Megan Chevalier chipped in with 12 kills of her own.
GSU setter Kat Minnerly recorded a double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 15
After exchanging the first four points of the match, South Alabama took the lead for good on the next point. The Jags held control for the remainder of the set and stretched their lead out to six (14-8) after a kill and a block by Gittens. GSU came back with the next two points, but Gittens again sparked the Jaguars with a solo block and another kill. She had three kills and three blocks in the opening set.
The two points by Gittens ignited South Alabama and the home team quickly extended its lead out to double digits. The Jaguars reeled off 10 of the next 13 points to take a 24-13 lead. Lewis registered three of her five first-set kills during the run and Hassell capped things off with a pair of aces.
Symone Stephenson later sealed the 25-15 win with kill of her own.
South Alabama came out on fire offensively in the first set, posting a .417 hitting percentage compare to just a .038 by the Eagles.
SET TWO: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19
Riding the momentum of taking the opening set, USA began the second frame by taking the first four points. However, Georgia Southern battled back and tied the contest back up at 7-7 after a block by DeRatt and Joseph. South Alabama would get the ensuing point, but the Eagles answered right back and grabbed the lead as they responded with a 6-0 run and took a 13-8 lead after an ace from Minnerly.
Georgia Southern later extended its lead out to 10 (23-13) after a solo block by DeRatt.
USA made a late rally attempt, trimming the deficit to 24-19 following a kill by Lewis, but the Eagles evened the match on the next point as Joseph and Minnerly teamed up to turn back a Jaguar attack and give GSU the 25-19 win.
After committing eight attack errors in the first set, Georgia Southern was perfect in its attack in the second, posting a .533 hitting percentage. USA struggled against the Eagles' frontline in the second set. GSU had 13 total blocks in the frame and held the Jags to a .088 hitting percentage.
SET THREE: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
The Eagles led 11-7 early on in the third set, but over the next several points South Alabama began to chip away at the deficit and following three consecutive attack errors by Georgia Southern, the Jaguars retook the lead at 16-15.
GSU again led by two on two occasions, but the Jags once again took advantage of Eagle miscues – one ball-handling error and a pair of attack errors – to go back out in front 21-20.
Georgia Southern answered right back with three-straight points of its own to reclaim the lead, but USA tied the contest back up at 23-23 after a kill by Daniel and an ace by Baker.
Coming out of a time out though, Georgia Southern was able to pick up the final two points of the set and take the 25-23 win. Murray slammed home a kill and GSU then took the set on a Jaguar attack error.
DeRatt had six kills and an ace for the Eagles in the third set.
SET FOUR: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
Tied at 5-5 early on in the fourth set, South Alabama pushed across 10 of the next 12 points to take a 15-7 lead. During the Jaguar run, the Eagles committed five of their six attack errors in the frame. Mallory Moore also added a pair of kills for USA during that stretch.
Trailing by eight, GSU responded right back and used a 9-3 run to trim the deficit to two (18-16). Murray recorded a pair of kills early on during the run and the Eagle frontline then blocked a Jag attack to cap off the scoring.
The Eagles kept chipping away at the deficit and tied the contest back up, 21-21, after a put away by Chevalier – one of her four in the frame.
Sarah Richardson and Daniel – who had five kills of her own in the set – then slammed home back-to-back kills to give USA the 23-21 advantage, but Georgia Southern closed strong and picked up the final four points of the match to take the set 25-23 and seal the victory. DeRatt began the pivotal late run of four unanswered points with a pair of kills. Coley then clinched the win with two kills of her own.
NOTES: With the loss to Georgia Southern, South Alabama falls to 0-4 in the all-time series and 0-2 on its home floor versus the Eagles. Both the 22 block assists and 12.0 total blocks by the Eagles on Saturday night were the second-most by an opponent this season. With her 22 blocks versus Georgia Southern, Emily Hundt moved into ninth-place on the Jags' career digs list, passing former Jag Jennica Hagberg (1,670). She now has 1,689 for her career.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Cajuns Rally Past Troy
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin’ Cajuns rallied past a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8) win over Troy on Saturday at Earl K. Long Gym.
Playing their third match in the last four days, the Cajuns (15-5, 5-5 SBC) struggled offensively throughout much of the match, but made plays when they needed to and came back from a four-point deficit in the fourth set to extend the match to a decisive fifth set. There, Louisiana put together its best offensive set of the night, hitting .417 to beat the Trojans (9-13, 1-9 SBC) to the finish line.
Sara Mossakowski was the go-to offensive hand for the Cajuns on the night, scoring 16 kills and just missing a double-double with nine digs and four blocks. No other UL player finished in double figures, but the Cajuns had five other players with at least five kills. One of Kaylee Nemeth, who finished with nine kills, including the game-winner.
Abby Filce and Chanelle Gardner added eight kills apiece, with Gardner also picking up a match-high five blocks. Andrea Hole continued her stellar play this season, totaling 46 assists, 16 digs, three blocks and five well-placed kills.
Stacey Reilly followed up setting a career high with 20 kills on Friday by setting a career high with 17 digs against the Trojans. She was joined by libero Caitlyn Auxilien with 17 digs as well.
Mossakowski had five scores in the first set and the Cajuns out-killed the Trojans 13-10, but were their own worst enemy with 10 attack errors and four service errors in helping Troy steal the opening frame. UL had things tied up at 20-20 late in the set, but three attack errors and a service error were keys in a 5-1 Trojan run to go up 1-0.
The Cajuns stepped up their game before the half, knotting the match at 1-1 with a 25-13 runaway win in the second set. Mossakowski and Gardner had four kills each to lead the way as the Cajuns raced out to a 15-5 lead, not letting the Trojans any closer than eight points.
In the third set, Louisiana found itself down 15-10 midway through and never fully recovered. The Cajuns were hindered by a .049 attack percentage in the set, allowing Troy to go back ahead 2-1 despite hitting just .186 itself.
Louisiana squared the match one set later, getting four kills from Reilly and three apiece from Hole and Nemeth. A block by Mossakowski snapped a 14-14 tie in the Cajuns’ favor and sparked a quick 4-1 spurt that pushed UL ahead 18-15. From there, the Cajuns used kills from Reilly and Hole to get to the brink of extending the match, doing so when Mossakowski and Gardner combined to reject Marija Zelenovic for the set’s final point.
The Cajuns wasted little time in closing out the match in the fifth set, not committing a single attack error on 17 swings and getting three kills from Nemeth. A kill from Hole and a pair of Trojan errors gave UL an 8-5 advantage, one which quickly increased to 10-5 after a Troy timeout. The Trojans got to as close as three points, but the Cajuns finished things off with scores from both Nemeth and Reilly.
Louisiana will step out of conference on Tuesday when it travels to Waco to take on Baylor at the Ferrell Center. That will serve as the kickoff for a four-match road streak that includes trips to league-newcomers Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Georgia State beginning Oct. 17 in Boone, N.C.
Troy Volleyball Drops Another Five Set Match
LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – For the second time in as many nights, the Troy volleyball team dropped a five-set, road match. On Saturday, the Trojans lost to UL Lafayette, 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8) at Earl K. Long Gym.
The Trojans (9-13, 1-9) have now lost nine straight matches, with six of them coming in five sets. After winning their first two five-set matches of the season, both in non-conference matches, the Trojans are now 2-6 on the year in five-set matches.
Just like on Friday night at ULM, the Trojans led the Ragin’ Cajuns 2-1 in the match, but hit less than .100 in the fourth and fifth sets as UL Lafayette (15-5, 5-5) took the win.
With Troy down just one point, 5-4, in the fifth set, the Cajuns scored five of six to take control at 10-6. The Ragin’ Cajuns hit a match-high .412 in the final match with seven kills and no errors.
The Trojans had seven kills and six attack errors in both the fourth and fifth sets, hitting .024 and .040, respectively. Troy posted just a .105 attack percentage on the match while UL Lafayette hit just .127.
For the second straight night, Blair Winston and Marija Zelenovic tied for the Troy team lead in kills, this time with 12 each. Also for the second night, neither hit over .200. Symone Shaw recorded 11 kills for the Trojans with four attack errors for a .226 attack percentage.
Tineille Waggoner had 42 assists and a team-high 20 digs for her second straight double-double. Ali Dowdall and Madeleine Bouillion recorded 17 and 15 digs, respectively for Troy.
Sara Mossakowski posted 16 kills to lead UL Lafayette but had 12 errors and hit just .085. Andrea Hole had 46 assists and 16 digs for a double-double.
Troy posted 10 and 15 kills in the first and third sets, respectively, as they took control of the match twice. However, the Trojans didn’t posted more than eight kills in any of the other sets.
The Trojans return on the court on Friday when they host Sun Belt leader UALR at Trojan Arena for a 7 p.m. match. Troy will also host UT Arlington next weekend when the Mavericks visit on Sunday.
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