Box Score
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The 4-5 seed matchup in the 2021 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Volleyball Tournament couldn't have been much tighter, as the No. 4-seed Georgia College Volleyball team (10-22) saw its season wrap up in a hard-fought five-set loss to No. 5-seed Lander University (13-12) Friday night.
The Bobcats started strong, taking set one 25-21. Lander reversed the score in the second to even things out. The Bobcats then took a 25-23 third set. With their backs against the wall, the Bearcats took the final two 25-15 and 15-13. The third set was the strongest for the GC offense, tallying 14 kills and hitting a strong .227.
Georgia College never led in the deciding fifth set, but also were never more than two points away as the two teams traded punches. Senior Sarah Mangan (Farmingville, New York) and sophomore Mary Kate Kotzin (Dunwoody) each tallied three kills in the final set to lead GC.
Freshman Ally Hall (Cumming) led the team with 17 kills, adding 19 digs for her 13th double-double of the year. She finished with 18.5 points, adding three block assists.
Mangan helped the scoring with a season-high 13 kills and six blocks. Coming from the middle, she hit a strong .281 for the match. Kotzin finished with seven kills and three blocks.
Senior Lauren Talele (Woodstock) had 45 assists and 11 digs for her 21st double-double of the year. Graduate student Sarah Stewart (Savannah) led the defense with 21 digs, pacing five in double-digits, as Hall had 19, sophomore Bella DeSalvo (Hamilton, Ohio) 17, senior Morgan Overly (St. Simons Island) another 17 and Talele 11.
With the six blocks in the match, Mangan finished with 122 this year, breaking the single-season record at GC, set by Taylor Svehla in 2018. DeSalvo's 17 digs give her 631 in her career, passing Nicole Cohen (2019) for eighth in school history. Talele finishes the season with 1,036 assists, just the second Bobcat to tally 1,000 in a single season.
The loss puts the Bobcats at 4-5 in PBC Tournament matches all-time.
The loss brings the season to a close for the Bobcats, tallying double-digit wins for the fifth time in program history. GC took the No. 4-seed in the PBC Tournament and landed both Hall and Stewart on the All-PBC Second Team.
The proud recipients of the 2021 PBC Sportsmanship Institution of the Year, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GC Athletics is now two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the league's sportsmanship honor. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics holds to the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life". Sign up at @GCBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.
