Box Score Scores: VCU 3, Georgia Southern 1 (25-22, 25-13, 24-26, 25-23)
Tournament: Carolina Classic
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C. (Carmichael Arena)
Records: VCU 2-5, Georgia Southern 0-7
THE BASICS
- VCU hit a season-high .268, and three Rams spiked double-digit kills in the opening match of the Carolina Classic Friday night at Carmichael Arena.
- Junior Kalah Jones led the attack with 16 kills for VCU, while senior Janelle Sykes and freshman Jessica Young added 14 and 11, respectively.
- Senior setter Cecilia Aragao, who missed the second half of her junior season with a knee injury, appears to be hitting her stride. The Recife, Brazil native dished out 48 more assists Friday to go along with seven digs and four kills.
- Sophomore Nora Reed hit .500 and added eight kills for VCU.
- VCU was also aided by seven service aces.
- Georgia Southern's Jamie DeRatt led all players with 20 kills.
QUOTABLE FROM COACH JODY ROGERS
"We played really well. Janelle Sykes had a great game, as did Kalah Jones. We also had a bunch of people come off the bench and play well for us today. We served well today as well. It was just a good team win."
"Mary Kilbane, Sami Blaze and Rebekah Strange did a great job controlling the first ball for us today. We passed 2.45 out of 3.0, which really allowed us to get our fast offense going. That was really key for us."
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Jones has piled up 34 kills in her last two matches, an average of 3.8 per set. She's hitting .247 over that stretch.
- VCU has served up 16 aces in its last two matches. The Rams recorded 13 aces in their first five matches of the year.
WHAT'S NEXT
VCU readies for an impressive Saturday challenge in the second day of the Carolina Classic. At 10 a.m., the Rams meet 16th-ranked Kentucky. Then, at 7 p.m., VCU will battle 17th-ranked and host North Carolina at Carmichael Arena.
