Wildcats Rebound with 3-1 Win Over Georgia State

Saturday, September 14

Atlanta, GA

2 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

6-2

Georgia State

4-6

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Davidson	17	27	26	25	3
Georgia State	25	25	24	23	1

Wildcats Rebound with 3-1 Win Over Georgia State

9/14/2013 5:22:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ashley Bailey

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ATLANTA, Ga. – A trio of Wildcats posted double-digit kills as the Davidson volleyball team bounced back from yesterday's loss to Buffalo with a 3-1 win over host Georgia State at the GSU Invitational Saturday afternoon. After dropping the first set 25-17, the 'Cats rebounded to take the next three sets by scores of 27-25, 26-24 and 25-23.

Taylor Pisel and Hannah Rau each finished with 13 kills in the match, hitting .212 and .278, respectively. Rau also came away with nine digs to fall just shy of a double-double, while Pisel added in three block assists.

Caroline Brown notched a double-double, her sixth of the season, totaling 12 kills and 15 digs. She also recorded three aces on her way to a team-high 16 points. Anastasia Owen led the defense with 27 digs, while Mikayla Derochie finished with 46 assists in the match. Tindall Sewell led the blocking effort with four block assists as the Wildcats posted 7.0 as a team.

In addition, the 'Cats hit .168 with 51 kills. The Panthers finished with 62 kills and a team attacking percentage of .220 with 11.0 team blocks. Dede Bonannon had a team-high 13 kills as the Panthers also had three players in double figures. Natalia Nieto was the top setter with 41 assists, and tied Emily Averbeck with 22 digs apiece. Andrea Ezell had a pair of solo blocks and five block assists for GSU.

The two teams kept things close to start the first set, working their ways to ties of 12-12 and later 15-15. The 'Cats took a quick one-point lead at 16-15 on a kill from Pisel, but the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to grab a 21-16 advantage on a Davidson error. Pisel and Emily Franklin combined for a block to stop the run, but GSU would rattle off five straight to take the set 25-17.

Davidson capitalized on several early GSU miscues to score the first four points of the second set before adding four more in a row to take a 9-2 advantage. However the Panthers would score nine straight to come from behind and take an 18-17 lead before a kill by Brown from Derochie stopped the run. A pair of kills from Molly Shonk put the Panthers in front 22-20 but this time it was the Wildcats who rallied to knot the score at 24-all on another kill from Brown. The teams traded points to a 25-25 tie before back-to-back kills from Sewell sealed the deal for the 'Cats at 27-25.

Three kills by Pisel helped Davidson to a 12-10 lead in the third set, but a kill and an ace by the Panthers would even the score at 12-12. A pair of kills from Kristina Stinson helped GSU to a 16-13 lead, which soon stretched to 20-16 on a block by Nieto and Ezell. The Panthers came dangerously close to taking the set, serving match point at 24-22. However, the Wildcats answered with a kill and an ace by Brown to once again knot the set at 24-24. Despite a pair of Georgia State timeouts, Rau came up with back-to-back kills as the Wildcats came from behind for the 26-24 set win to lead the match at 26-24.

Once again the 'Cats took a 4-0 lead to begin the fourth set on a pair of kills from Emily Franklin. The Panthers quickly put up six of the next eight points to even things out at 6-6. The teams continued to trade points to a 12-12 tie and continued to keep things close. Kills from Brown and Rau, combined with a GSU error, put the Wildcats in front 18-15. Rau strung together a pair of kills soon after, forcing GSU to burn a timeout. The Panthers rallied for the 22-22 tie before Pisel slammed home a kill to put the Wildcats in front 23-22. The next three points were all the results of errors, with two going in Davidson's favor as the 'Cats claimed set three 25-23 to win the match 3-1.

Davidson is back in action later this evening, taking on Central Florida at 5:30 p.m. to finish the tournament.