GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3, WINTHROP 2 (20-25, 26-24, 26-24, 23-25, 15-10)
GREENVILLE, NC — In the first five-set match of the 2023 NIVC, Georgia Southern took the lead in the deciding set and made it hold up to slip past Winthrop in Round 1 of the event. Georgia Southern (22-8) will play The Citadel or East Carolina in the Super 16; Winthrop closes the year at 14-14. Winthrop trailed early in Set 1, 8-5, but an 8-1 run swung it back the other way, capped by an ace from Avery Jolley. Two GS errors got it to game point, and a kill from Brookelynn Thomas closed the deal. Set 2 was a true scuffle, as no team led by more than three points, with Georgia Southern getting the difference makers on two blocks from Megan Vickery and Jordan Christy. Set 3 played out as another nail-biter, with Winthrop coming back from an 11-4 deficit to taking the lead, 21-20. GS sealed it with a kill from Chamblee Russell and a block from Ally Barnhart and Jillian Gray. After Winthrop forced a deciding fifth set, Georgia Southern claimed a 7-5 lead on a kill from Gray. Kills from Christy (10-7) and Paige Powers (13-9) kept the lead intact, with the match ending on a Winthrop error and a kill from Gray. Georgia Southern got 15 kills from Russell and 14 kills from Gray. Kirsten Barrett had 28 assists to go with 12 digs, and Ashlyn Lovett had a program all-time record of 45 digs. For Winthrop, Thomas had 16 kills and Karli Shepherd had 15 kills. Isabella Murray dished out 48 assists to go with 17 digs; Madison Gorniak had 27 digs, Jolley closed with 15 digs, Rylie McMahen added 13 digs and Alicia Davis finished with 11 digs. |
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