Oct. 29, 2006
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Led by a match-high 20 kills from sophomore Christy Dowd, Georgia Southern put four in double-figures and downed the Western Carolina Catamounts, 3-1 (30-21, 23-30, 30-26, 30-17) Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference volleyball action in the Ramsey Center.
Western (7-24, 3-12 SoCon) could not capitalize on the career-high by freshman Lauren Brown, who tied junior Meredith Harmon with a team-high 11 kills. Brown, a rookie from Mt. Gilead, N.C., added four block assists while Harmon tallied three. Senior Heather Koontz was the third Catamount in double-figures, recording 10, with her classmate, Meghan Boyle, just missing a double-double with eight kills and 12 digs, adding three total blocks.
"Today was a disappointing loss, but I am proud of the way we battled back. We came out flat in game one, but made up our minds in game two that we were going to fight," said head coach Stephanie Dragan. "I am glad that even here at the end of the season our team showed drive and determination to get better and play hard.
"Lauren Brown had another nice match today. She is developing into a strong outside for us. I also thought that (Amanda) Kerr stepped up in game three and was solid at the net with her block and Katie (Hennessey) did a really nice job distributing the ball."
Freshman Liz Rondone led the Catamounts defensively with 18 digs, with senior Kate Willard recording 11. Freshman Katie Hennessey dished out 40 set assists in the loss.
Georgia Southern (11-10, 5-8 SoCon) took an early lead in the match by winning the nip-and-tuck game one, which saw nine ties but only one lead change, 30-to-21. However, the Catamounts rallied back in the second game to even the match.
With Western leading 13-10 in game two, Georgia Southern, behind the serve of sophomore Mae Chabra, rattled off eight straight points to erase the deficit and pull ahead, 17-13. But the Catamounts recovered, breaking serve and putting together an eight-point swing of their own behind Boyle's serve to reclaim the lead, 24-19. WCU scored five of the final nine points in the frame to knot the match at one game apiece.
Game three saw one lead change and one tie - both within the first three points of the frame - as Georgia Southern pulled out to a two games to one lead with the 30-26 win. The Eagles led by as many as six midway through the game before WCU managed to whittle the deficit down to two twice, but could never pull any closer.
In the final game, Western again kept things close until the midway mark when Chabra scored four-straight points as a part of a 17-5 Eagle run to lead 28-to-15, then finished off the game and match with the 30-17 win.
Dowd, as well as junior Bailey Coleman and Chabra, all recorded double-doubles in the win for the Eagles. In addition to her 20 kills, Dowd added 11 digs, while Coleman went for 13 kills and 13 digs. Chabra dished out 59 assists and recorded 11 digs in the win.
Also in double-digit kills for GSU was junior Gorana Bacic and senior Jennifer Charles with 13 and 10, respectively.
Western Carolina steps out of conference play on Tuesday when it visits East Tennessee State at 7:00 pm in Johnson City, Tenn.
