Pierucci Leads Over Eagles, 3-1, on Senior Day

Sunday, November 11

Davidson, N.C.

2:00

Davidson College Athletics

Georgia So.

Pierucci Leads Over Eagles, 3-1, on Senior Day

11/11/2007 3:45:19 PM | Volleyball

Lauren Biggers -- Assistant SID

Box Score

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- On senior day at Belk Arena, senior outside hitter Katie Pierucci tallied a team-high 24 kills and 20 digs to lead the 'Cats to a 3-1 (30-24, 30-26, 21-30, 30-27) win over the Georgia Southern Eagles in Southern Conference volleyball action on Sunday afternoon in the team's regular-season finale.

With its second straight win and sixth in the past nine matches, Davidson improves to 12-19 overall and 7-11 in the league. Georgia Southern falls to 10-20 overall, 7-11 in the SoCon. Davidson will earn the seventh seed in the 2007 Southern Conference volleyball tournament, by virtue of tie breakers with the Eagles, which gets underway in Chattanooga this Friday. The Wildcats will face the second-seeded Appalachian Mountaineers, whom they defeated 3-2 on Friday evening in Boone, in the first round at 10 a.m.

Pierucci hit a season-high .417 (24-4-48) in the match and turned in her 15th double-double of the season. Along with Pierucci, seniors Courtney Cron, Nicole Keroack and Lindsey Woeste appeared in their final match at Belk Arena and were honored in pregame festivities. Defensively, Woeste had 19 digs and a pair of assists in the match, while Cron added 16 digs and a pair of assists and aces. Keroack had four kills, including a momentum-shifting putaway in the fourth game, an ace, three digs and three blocks in her final home match.

Junior middle blocker Kittery Neale added 16 kills to the offensive effort and hit .303 in the match, while freshman outside hitter Sarabeth Peele had 12 kills. Freshman setter Hayley Lawson had 51 assists to go along with eight kills, six blocks and a .500 clip. Fellow classmate Jorden Benedict made a team-high six blocks.

The Eagles were led by Bianca Julio, who had 25 kills on 58 swings for a .345 hitting percentage and a team-high 16 digs. Michelle Uzoh (14) and Laura Beth Lancaster (10) also touched double figures for Georgia Southern, who also got a match-high 57 assists and 10 digs from setter Jessica Bradford.

Strong serving from Keroack and kills from Peele, Lawson and Neale helped the 'Cats to a 4-1 lead to begin the match. Three straight points from Benedict, Neale and Pierucci pushed that lead to 11-7, but the Eagles answered, and back-to-back Wildcat errors put Georgia Southern on top, 13-12. Two straight putaways from Neale, who had seven in the game while hitting .500, reclaimed the lead for Davidson for good, and a couple of kills from Peele secured the 30-24 win for the 'Cats.

Georgia Southern jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the second game, but three straight aces by Pierucci and a kill from Keroack helped Davidson open a 10-7 lead. The Eagles rallied, and Julio knotted the score at 13. The teams traded points from that point, and the score was tied as late as 23-23 when the 'Cats began to pull away. A Pierucci putaway paired with a couple of Eagle hitting errors gave Davidson a 27-24 edge and forced Georgia Southern into a timeout. Pierucci, who had eight kills and hit .429 in the game, had a pair of kills to give the 'Cats a match point, and an Eagle error delivered the 30-26 win for a 2-0 lead in the match.

Despite being down two games, the Eagles outhit the 'Cats .385 to .125 and controlled the third game from the start. Georgia Southern opened up an 11-5 lead with Bailey Coleman serving five straight points, and Davidson was unable to overcome the deficit, dropping a 30-21 decision.

Both teams laid it on the line in the fourth game, which had nine ties and six lead changes, but it was the Wildcats who played better down the stretch. With the game knotted at 21, Peele put together a 4-0 run, including kills from Pierucci and Benedict, to give the 'Cats a 24-21 lead and put Davidson up for good. The Eagles rallied and got within one, 24-23, and again at 26-25, but a kill from Keroack forced Georgia Southern into a timeout. After the pause, Lawson extended Davidson's lead, 28-25, and evenutally, punched home the match-winner for the 30-27 win.

Davidson has earned the seventh seed in the 2007 Southern Conference Volleyball tournament, hosted by Chattanooga, which opens at 10 a.m. on Friday. For complete tournament information, visit www.socosports.com.