Senior Caroline Boone and sophomore Georgia Garrison combined for 58 kills to help lead Francis Marion University to a pair of wins, Saturday (Sept. 3) on the second day of the Queens University of Charlotte Fall Volleyball Invitational Tournament.

FMU defeated Belmont Abbey College 25-16, 25-19, 26-24 in the morning and the Catawba College 28-30, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23 later in the day.

Francis Marion evens it season mark at 2-2.  The Patriots will return home to host the annual FMU Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday in the Smith University Center.

In the opener versus BAC, Garrison tallied 11 kills with only one error on 36 swings, while Boone registered 10 kills with two errors on 20 attacks.

Junior Erika Hartings added eight kills, while senior Carlie Smith recorded five kills, 14 digs, and four blocks.  Freshman Lenee' Blot chipped in three kills and a team-high six blocks, while junior libero Shelbi Meek dug up a team-high 16 balls. 

FMU sophomore setter Carrie McGinnis handed out 30 assists.

Aimee Cloninger led Belmont Abbey (0-3) with nine kills, while Gabby Martinez produced 17 assists.

A 6-0 run behind the serving of McGinnis allowed FMU to erase an early two-point deficit in the opening set.  Francis Marion closed the game with a 7-2 spurt to capture the 25-16 win.

In set two, Smith served during a 5-0 run midway through the game as FMU took control en route to the 25-19 victory.  In the third set, Francis Marion rallied from a 16-9 deficit to knot the score at 17-17.  Trailing 24-22 and facing two set points, the Patriots rattled off the final four points to win 26-24, thanks to a service error, an ace by Meek, block assists from Boone and Hartings, and a Crusader attack error.

Against Catawba, Boone tallied 20 kills and a .471 attack percentage, while Garrson recorded 17 kills, 11 digs, and three service aces.  Smith posted 13 kills and 16 digs, while Meek had a team-high 17 digs and served four aces. McGinnis dished out a career-high 51 assists.

Alex Hopper led Catawba with 17 kills.

After losing the opening set, Francis Marion scored the opening seven points of the second set -- behind the serving of Meek -- enroute to a 25-16 win.  A 5-0 spurt snapped a 7-7 deadlock in set three and the Patriots never trailed again as they captured a 25-17 victory. Kills by Smith and Boone snapped a 23-23 tie in set four and clinched the match for FMU.

Francis Marion Univ. def. Belmont Abbey Coll. 25-16,25-19,26-24

Francis Marion Univ. (1-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Georgia Garrison
11-2-1; Caroline Boone 10-1-3; Erika Hartings 8-0-2; Carlie Smith
5-0-4; Lenee' Blot 3-0-6; Carrie McGinnis 1-1-2; Shelbi Meek 0-1-0;
Totals 38-5-10.0. (Assists) - Carrie McGinnis 30. (Dig leaders) -
Shelbi Meek 16; Carlie Smith 14; Erika Hartings 8

Belmont Abbey Coll. (0-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Aimee Cloninger 9-0-0;
Mackenzie Chrapliwy 7-0-0; Hannah Dubois 5-0-2; Kelsey Cunningham
4-0-1; Alexandra Henriott 3-0-0; Dani Fortunato 3-0-1; Coreen Norwood
2-0-0; Lanie Healey 1-0-0; Cassidy Bonito 1-0-0; Emily Rose 1-0-0;
Ashley Yeager 0-1-0; Gabby Martinez 0-2-0; Sarah Kenney 0-2-0; Totals
36-5-2.0. (Assists) - Gabby Martinez 17. (Dig leaders) - Sarah Kenney
12; Aimee Cloninger 9; Mackenzie Chrapliwy 8

Site: CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CURRY ARENA)
Date: SEP 03, 2016   Attend: 80   Time: 1:15    
Referees:
Libero: Meek (FMU)

Francis Marion Univ. def. Catawba College 28-30,25-16,25-17,25-23

Francis Marion Univ. (2-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Caroline Boone
20-1-2; Georgia Garrison 17-3-0; Carlie Smith 13-0-3; Erika Hartings
4-0-1; Lenee' Blot 3-0-4; Carrie McGinnis 1-1-0; Kaitlyn Ziegelmaier
1-0-0; Shelbi Meek 0-4-0; Totals 59-9-7.0. (Assists) - Carrie McGinnis
51. (Dig leaders) - Shelbi Meek 17; Carlie Smith 16; Georgia Garrison
11; Carrie McGinnis 8

Catawba College (1-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Alex Hopper 17-0-0;
McKenzie Garrison 9-0-1; Allie Grubb 6-1-4; Audrey Hoffman 5-0-3;
Allison Benton 4-0-0; Rachel Stanford 2-1-1; Kimberly Hurtado 1-0-1;
Meredith Furr 0-3-0; Totals 44-5-5.0. (Assists) - Rachel Stanford 31.
(Dig leaders) - Meredith Furr 22; Allison Benton 10; McKenzie Garrison
9; Rachel Stanford 9

Site: CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CURRY AREAN)
Date: SEP 03, 2016   Attend: 101   Time: 2:03    
Referees:
Libero: Meek (FMU)