Georgia Southern 3, Davidson 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - In the final home match of the season, the Georgia Southern volleyball team swept Davidson 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-13) Tuesday night in Hanner Fieldhouse to improve to 23-8 (13-2 SoCon) on the season. With the win, the Eagles finish the year with a 13-1 record on their home court.
Senior hitters Sarah Gildersleeve and Leah Kettelson each posted seven kills in their final home match as Eagles. Kettelson hit a team-leading .538 on a mistake free night at the net, adding two service aces.
Leading GSU was sophomore middle hitter Moriah Bellissimo with 12 kills and 10 digs, her seventh double-double of the year. Sophomore setter Kate Van Dyke dished out 37 assists, adding two block assists, eight kills and a team-leading 13 digs.
Set One: Georgia Southern 25, Davidson 22
Georgia Southern broke a 4-4 stalemate early in the first set, taking advantage of Davidson errors and multiple kills from Kettelson and juniors Hannah Nelson and Bethany Sanford to fire off nine-straight points and take a 13-4 lead.
Van Dyke led GSU with four kills and eight digs, while four other Eagles posted three kills apiece.
Set Two: Georgia Southern 25, Davidson 21
The Eagles jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the second frame, but the Wildcats worked their way back in, scoring seven of the next 10 points to cut the GSU lead to one (10-9). Georgia Southern stormed back, pulling ahead 18-12 to run to an eventual 25-21 win.
Nelson and Bellissimo paced the Eagles with four kills each, helping GSU to a team .326 attack percentage.
Set Three: Georgia Southern 25, Davidson 13
GSU dominated the finale, using a pair of 4-0 scoring runs to pick up the win 25-13. The Eagles played error free at the net, hitting .452 as a team and holding Davidson to just .083. Bellissimo added five kills to her tally to lead Georgia Southern.
The Eagles close out the regular season Friday, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Davidson will finish out the regular season when it travels to Chattanooga Saturday for a 6 p.m. match. The 2010 SoCon Tournament opens in Boone on November 19.
High Point 3, UNCG 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - After dropping the first two sets, UNCG battled back to win the third set, but couldn't hold on as the Spartans fell to High Point, 3-1, on Tuesday evening in Fleming Gymnasium. It was the final midweek game for the Spartans this season.
With the loss, the Spartans fell to 19-11 this season, while the Panthers improved to 18-12.
The Spartans were led by Caley Redden who had a team-high 11 kills and added a team-high 15 digs for a double-double. Kayren Finney and Ariel Newman each chipped in seven kills too and Kellie Orewiler recorded 11 digs.
Megan Smith had a match-high 17 kills to pace High Point and also had 12 digs for a double-double. Stephanie Wallin had 12 kills offensively as well and Julie Hershkowitz added a match-high 21 digs.
In the opening set, the Spartans used a quick 4-0 run to take an early 10-8 lead. The Panthers immediately responded with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 13-10 lead. It was a lead they wouldn't relinquish as they quickly built their lead to 17-12 on a UNCG attack error to force a Spartan timeout. UNCG couldn't recover out of the timeout and dropped the first set, 25-18.
Things didn't get better for UNCG in the second set as High Point ran off six-straight points to take an 11-4 lead. The Panthers then led 12-7 midway through the set before running off the final 13 points in a row to take the second set in commanding fashion, 25-7.
The Spartans came fighting back out of the intermission as the two teams traded points early. High Point eventually built a 13-9 lead, but UNCG came right back to take the next four points and tie the set at 13 on a kill by Kayren Finney.
The Spartans finally got their first lead at 21-20 on a kill by Redden before the Panthers tied it back up at 22. Another kill by Redden gave UNCG a 23-22 lead and forced a High Point timeout. Out of the timeout, the Spartans got a kill from Newman to set up set point and Redden finished the set off with a kill to give UNCG the set, 25-22.
The teams continued trading points at the beginning of the fourth set at UNCG held a narrow 8-6 advantage. The Panthers came right back to take the next seven points to go ahead, 13-8. The Spartans fought back to cut the High Point lead to 17-15, but the Panthers won the next four points en route to winning the set, 25-20.
The Spartans will wrap up their regular season this weekend as they host Western Carolina and Appalachian State. UNCG will begin its weekend on Friday against the Catamounts at 7 p.m. in Fleming Gymnasium.