STATESBORO, GA. – The Citadel fell in straight sets over Georgia Southern (11-25, 11-25, 16-25) on Tuesday afternoon inside the Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
The Bulldogs (0-4) were out-hit .443 to .071 over three sets against the Eagles (3-0). The Eagles had eight aces compared to the Bulldogs' three aces.
 
Savannah Freeman led the Bulldogs in kills for the third straight match with eight kills.
 
Reagan Barth and Gabby Babinski each recorded nine kills for the Eagles.
 
Set 1: A kill and a service ace from Freeman gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead early in the first set. The Eagles responded with a 5-0 scoring run to take the lead at 10-6. A 13-1 run by the Eagles extinguished any hopes of a comeback, and they won the first set 25-11.
 
Set 2: Georgia Southern jumped to an early 6-3 lead off an attack error by the Bulldogs, but a kill by Freeman brought the score to 6-4. The Eagles took advantage of another scoring run to increase their lead by ten points at 17-7. A 6-0 scoring run from Georgia Southern ended set two at 25-11.
 
Set 3: The Eagles took an early 7-2 lead with a kill and a service ace. A 5-0 rally by the Bulldogs, sparked by an Alexa Psotka kill, tied the set at 7-7. An attack error by the Eagles tied the set at 10-10, but they responded with a 5-0 run to boost their lead to five points at 15-10. Back-to-back kills from Freeman cut the Eagles' lead to three at 18-15, but a 7-1 run by Georgia Southern closed out the set and the match at 25-16.
 
"Georgia Southern is one of the most athletic teams, and he has done a great job building their program. Our kids got a taste of that tonight and responded to the challenge very well, even though it doesn't show in the wins and losses," said head coach Dave Zelenock. "We made significant progress with our starting group and their development. Our goal remains to perform at our best in the SoCon Tournament."
 
Up Next
The Citadel has the weekend off but will return to play against the College of Charleston on Sept. 8 at 6 pm.