Nov. 14, 2004

Box Score

The Georgia Southern volleyball team ended the regular season in winning fashion, but not without a scare, as they managed to stave off a fervent Furman comeback squad to win in five games (30-23, 30-24, 27-30, 32-34, 15-13) Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Georgia Southern took game one in convincing fashion, tallying a match-high .444 attack percentage to the Paladins' .171 mark, staying on top for nearly the entire game. The Eagles gave a similar effort in the second game, holding the lead for the entire length of the frame, hitting .317 on the way.

Furman rebounded in game three, staving off a Georgia Southern comeback bid that tied the score at 22. The Lady Paladins never trailed in the game, and clinched the win on an Ally Hock kill. The third game saw the two teams battle back and forth, fighting to 15 ties and seven lead changes before the Lady Paladins were able to stave off two match points and take the 34-32 win, sending the match to the decisive game five.

In that fifth game, the Eagles quickly took 10-5 advantage, only to see the Paladins score five in a row to tie the action at 10-10. The score was tied twice more before, at 13-13, Georgia Southern was able to take the game, and the match, following a pair of Furman attack errors.

Hock led the attack for the Paladins (14-15, 8-8 SoCon) with 26 kills, 13 digs and a .392 attack percentage. Whitney Purser had 18 kills and 12 digs with Courtney Stewardson tallying 41 assists.

Furman, fourth seed in the South, will head to the tournament to meet North Division top seed Appalachian State Friday at 10 a.m. in Cullowhee, N.C.