FLORENCE, SC – Seniors Carlie Smith and Caroline Boone each registered 16 kills to help propel Francis Marion University to a 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 25-13) Senior Night victory over Georgia College, Friday (Oct. 28) in Peach Belt Conference women's volleyball action.

The Patriots snap a four-match skid and improve to 12-10 overall and move into a tie for sixth place in the PBC with a 6-7 mark – only one-half game behind fifth-place Georgia College (14-8, 5-5).

Francis Marion will hold Alumni Day on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against Augusta University.  All interested Patriot volleyball alumni are encouraged to attend an Alumni Match on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in the Smith University Center.

Boone hit .538 on 24 swings and tallied five service aces and seven blocks, while Smith added five blocks.  Boone also surpassed 900 career kills during the contest.

Freshman Lenee' Blot recorded a season-high 10 kills in only 14 swings.

FMU sophomore Carrie McGinnis and freshman Kaitlyn Ziegelmaier shared setting duties and finished 28 and 20 assists respectively.  Freshman libero Natalie Vaughn dug up a match-high 20 balls, while junior Shelbi Meek added 17 digs and three service aces.

Ebony Powers led the Bobcats with 12 kills and 13 digs, while setter Kayla Brockway handed out 40 assists and dug up 11 balls.

FMU never trailed in the opening set, capping off the win with a kill from Boone.  The back-and-forth second set included four lead changes and six ties.  The Patriots served for the set at 24-23, but Georgia College ran off the final three points to collect the 26-24 win and even the match at one-set apiece.

Following intermission, Francis Marion scored the opening six points of the third set only to see the Bobcats rally and take a 19-18 advantage.  Trailing 22-21, FMU ran off four straight points – the last two on kills from Smith and Blot – to capture a 25-22 win.  A 6-0 spurt by the Patriots erased a 6-5 deficit in set four and ignited a 20-7 run that ended the match.