STATESBORO, GA The UNC Greensboro volleyball team opened Southern Conference action with a 3-2 over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Spartans won by scores of 27-30, 30-14, 23-30, 30-15, 15-13 and picked up their second consecutive victory.
Kaitlyn Nortz led UNCG (7-7, 1-0 SoCon)) with a season-high 19 kills while teammates Branagan Fuller and Emily Lindborg each tallied 17 kills on the afternoon. Lindborg's 17 kills is a new career mark. Lisa Fawell recorded a game-high 68 assists while Catherine Hanners tallied 26 digs. The Spartans recorded a .244 hitting percentage and were led by Lindborg who hit an impressive .536 for the match.
Michelle Uzoh led Georgia Southern (3-10, 0-1 SoCon) with 14 kills. The Eagles had four players with double-digit digs and were led by Bailey Coleman who tallied 15 on the afternoon.
In game one Georgia Southern opened with a 6-1 run to take the early lead but UNCG battled back to get as close as 18-14 but couldn't get any further as the Eagles took the game 30-27 and the early 1-0 match lead.
The Spartans rebounded in game two and were able to hold Georgia Southern to a -.214 hitting percentage. The Eagles had 14 errors and only five kills as UNCG took game two, 30-14. The Eagles wouldn't go away and limited UNCG to a.116 hitting percentage and nine errors in the third game. The game was close through the opening minutes and featured 10 ties but the Eagles were able to pull away down the stretch. With the game tied at 21 Georgia Southern went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.
UNCG dominated game four and tallied a season-high .477 hitting percentage. The Spartans pulled ahead 10-4 behind the offensive play of Fuller and Nortz and never looked back and evened the match at 2-2.
The final frame started with a 4-1 Georgia Southern run, capped off by a kill from Georgia Southern's Uzoh. UNCG wouldn't go away and answered with four straight points to take the lead and broke a 10-10 tie with three consecutive kills. Georgia Southern was able to pull within one point but a kill from Katherine Hart closed out the match and gave UNCG the win.
UNCG steps out of conference action to take on cross-town rival North Carolina A&T on Tuesday Sept. 18. First serve is set for 6 pm at Corbett Sports Center. UNCG returns to conference action Sept. 21 and 22 when they travel to Charleston, SC to take on The Citadel and College of Charleston.
AGATE
UNCG def. Georgia Southern 27-30, 30-14, 23-30, 30-15, 15-13
UNCG (7-7, 1-0 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Nortz 19-1-9;Emily Lindborg 17-0-2; Branagan Fuller 17-0-0; Katherine Hart 13-0-4; Caley Redden 6-0-1; Lauren Keiser 4-0-2; Lisa Fawell 2-2-4; Kayleigh Knerr 0-4-0; Catherine Hanners 0-1-0; Totals 78-8-11.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 68. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 26; Branagan Fuller 16; Katherine Hart 10
Georgia Southern (3-10, 0-1 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Michelle Uzoh14-0-5; Bailey Coleman 9-0-2; Sarah Gildersleeve 7-0-1; Christy Dowd 6-1-3; Laura Beth Lancaster 4-1-0; Bianca Julio 4-0-2; Gorana Bacic 3-0-2; Mae Chabra 1-2-1; Jen Abbott 1-0-1; Flavia Pereira 0-1-0; Totals 49-5-10.0. (Assists) - Mae Chabra 44. (Dig leaders) Bailey Coleman 15; Marissa Odom 14; Flavia Pereira 14; Mae Chabra 11; Christy Dowd 8
- UNCG -
