STATESBORO, GA – With four matches left in regular-season play, the Georgia Southern volleyball team will continue to challenge for one of four coveted Southern Conference Championship spots as it begins its final road swing this weekend. The Eagles travel to College of Charleston and The Citadel, Friday and Saturday, before closing out the trip Tuesday at Davidson, respectively.
Georgia Southern, who defeated College of Charleston in the first half of the home-and-home in Statesboro earlier this season, brings an 18-9 overall mark and 8-4 SoCon ledger into weekend conference play. The Eagles continue to battle for a berth to the SoCon Tournament as only the top two teams in each division advance, currently standing in third place of the South Division of the SoCon. Georgia Southern is coming off a 3-0 victory over Wofford most recently.
Sophomore outside hitter Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) continues to lead the Eagles owning an average of 3.52 kills and 3.03 in digs, ranking second on the team. Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) leads the offense with 10.69 assists per set to rank second in the conference, while senior libero Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) paces the defense with 4.00 digs per set.
The College of Charleston currently holds second place in the SoCon South Division, one game ahead of Georgia Southern, after a 3-0 victory over The Citadel. Ginny Phillips paved the way for the Cougars with eight kills and five blocks, while Cole Dawley tallied 29 assists.
For the season, Sarah Havel leads the team in kills with 2.51 per set. Paige Johnson leads the defense with 3.80 digs on average. CofC enters weekend competition standing at 13-11, 9-3.
The Citadel welcomes Georgia Southern to McAlister Field House on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs have improved to 7-21, 2-9 since dropping a 3-0 decision to the Eagles earlier in the season. Coming off a 3-0 defeat from College of Charleston, the Bulldogs are led this season by Tatum Jestila with a 2.85 kills per set average and 2.46 digs per set. Alyssa Holum holds a 7.16 assists per set average to lead the offense and trails Jestila narrowly in digs per set at 2.13.
Weekend conference action gets underway Friday night in the Carolina First Arena at 7 p.m. before moving over to McAlister Field House on Saturday at 8 p.m.
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