The Georgia Southern volleyball team (18-9, 8-4) played in two home games over the weekend, facing SoCon opponents Furman (20-3, 12-0) and Wofford (17-11, 4-8).

The Eagles started action on Friday, going up against the Furman Paladins who entered the match with an undefeated SoCon record. GSU came out firing in the opening set, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Outside hitter Bethany Sanford and teammate Parker Small led the Eagles with five kills each as the Eagles defeated Furman in the opening set, 25-22.

Furman looked on pace in the second set, taking an early lead and holding the Eagles to four points at 9-4. But a 4-0 run at 11-6 clipped the Eagles to within one point at 11-10. A Lauren Claybaugh kill tied the set at 15-all as the teams tied the set twice thereafter before GSU held onto the lead for a 25-21 second set win.

Coming back from the break, Furman opened the third set much like the second. After two early lead changes, the Paladins pulled away from the Eagles and secured the third set, 25-20. At 15-all in the fourth set, Furman took a three-point lead, 18-15, with two kills and a service ace. Senior Cristin Haines pulled the Eagles to within one point at 19-18, but Furman maintained control and closed out the fourth set, 25-20.

GSU jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the deciding fifth set. But Furman responded reeling off six consecutive points to take the lead, 7-5. After four ties, two lead changes and one saved match point on a Small kill, the conference foes knotted the score at 14-apiece. Natalie Braun gave Furman second match point as the Paladins forced an Eagle error to secure the win, 16-14.

“This was definitely a hard-fought match and a heartbreaker for us,” said head coach Chad Callihan. “It certainly has championship implications now that we are closing in on the end of our season, as do the remainder of our matches.”

“Furman played a very clean match, committing only 16 errors in five sets, and used that to their advantage. They were a tough opponent tonight and simply found a way to make a couple more plays than we did, but our season is not over.”

The season wasn’t over with Wofford coming into town the next day to face a disappointed, but hungry GSU team. The Eagles got off to a slow start, but were backed up by Sanford, who led the team in kills in two of the three sets. Wofford opened the match holding the lead until a Sanford kill, followed by a Terrier error, knotted the opening set at 11-all. The Terriers retained possession of the lead until consecutive kills from Sanford and Small gave the Eagles their first edge of the night, 18-17.

Tied at 21-apiece, the Terriers found set-point off a 3-0 run, but a 3-0 run by GSU put the Eagles back within striking distance at 24-all. The conference foes traded set-points until Arden Anderson tied the set at 26-26. Sanford put GSU on top as Small fired her fourth kill of the set to secure the win, 28-26.

Jumping out to a quick lead in the second set, GSU held a 6-2 advantage before a pair of Danielle Graham kills improved the lead, 8-2. A Shanna Hughes kill pushed the Terriers to within one point at 17-16, but the Eagles retaliated and took a commanding 2-0 lead into the intermission with a 25-22 second set victory.

Strong serving from freshman Ashleigh Wienbarg that the Eagles closed out the final third set. Encompassing 10 ties and four lead changes, the teams found themselves in a standstill at 15-all before Claybaugh earned the side out for the Eagles, putting Wienbarg at the helm of the court. Behind the freshman’s serving, the Eagles put together an 8-1 run, setting the stage for the Eagles at 23-16. Claybaugh fired her fourth kill of the set to give Georgia Southern match point as Graham closed out the conference victory for the Eagles, 25-16, with her 11th kill of the match.

“It was nice to see the way the team rebounded from last night’s performance. I know we were a little down after that, but it was good to see the team respond well on the court tonight,” coach Callihan. “There are some things I think we can still do better, but overall it was a good match.”

“I think our defense can be stronger than it has been the past couple of matches, so this week we will spend a lot of time working on our blocks and defense to see if we can get that to where we want it to be.” The Eagles have a week to prepare before hitting the road for a pair on conference matches this weekend.

GSU returns to the court traveling to the College of Charleston on Friday, Nov. 6. The Eagles have three consecutive road games before returning home. Match time in Charleston is scheduled for 7 p.m.