FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University senior Shelbi Meek pounded out a career 14 kills and dug up 15 balls, but Georgia College scored the opening three points of the deciding fifth set and went on to capture a come-from-behind 24-26, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 15-4 win over the Patriots, Friday night (Sept. 22) in Peach Belt Conference women's volleyball action.

Francis Marion (4-7, 1-2) is celebrating Alumni Weekend for its former players, many of whom returned will play in the 2017 Alumni Match on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Patriots' nest match will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. against USC Aiken in the squad's annual Sea of Red Match.

Following Meek were both senior Erika Hartings and sophomore Lenee' Blot with 10 kills apiece, while freshman Kayla Arthur tallied nine kills, four blocks, and two service aces.  Hartings also posted a double-double with 10 digs.

Junior setter Carrie McGinnis handed out 40 assists, while freshman setter Tori Carpenter added 11 helpers.  Sophomore libero Natalie Vaughn led FMU with 23 digs.

Junior Ebony Powers paced Georgia College (5-2, 1-1) with 21 kills and 19 digs, while setter Kayla Brockway registered 56 assists, 14 digs, and seven kills.  Libero Chandler Ewaldsen dug up a match-high 29 balls.

The Patriots took a 2-1 sets advantage with narrow wins in the first and third sets.  The fourth set featured 10 ties and a pair of lead changes.  Kills by Blot and Hartings rallied Francis Marion into a 23-23 deadlock, but the Bobcats earned the next two points with a pair of successful attacks.

In the final set, Georgia College scored the first three points and jumped to a 5-1 and later an 8-2 lead that FMU could not recover from.

Post-Match Comments from FMU head coach Lauren Baufield via Facebook Live

Georgia College def. Francis Marion Univ. 24-26,25-17,23-25,25-23,15-4

Georgia College (5-2, 1-1 PBC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Ebony Powers
21-2-1; Libby Bochniak 15-1-3; Taylor Svehla 13-0-5; Emma Boughner
8-0-4; Kayla Brockway 7-0-2; Lauren Swift 6-0-2; Chandler Ewaldsen
0-1-0; Jordyn Moellering 0-1-0; Totals 70-5-9.0. (Assists) - Kayla
Brockway 56. (Dig leaders) - Chandler Ewaldsen 29; Ebony Powers 19;
Kayla Brockway 14; Libby Bochniak 13; Jordyn Moellering 12

Francis Marion Univ. (4-7, 1-2 PBC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Shelbi Meek
14-2-0; Erika Hartings 10-0-1; Lenee' Blot 10-1-2; Kayla Arthur 9-2-4;
Georgia Garrison 6-2-0; Veronica Lane 2-0-3; Courtney Abdur-Rahim
2-0-0; Carrie McGinnis 1-0-0; Jessica Helmink 1-0-0; Tori Carpenter
1-0-0; Natalie Vaughn 0-3-0; Totals 56-10-5.0. (Assists) - Carrie
McGinnis 40; Tori Carpenter 11. (Dig leaders) - Natalie Vaughn 23;
Shelbi Meek 15; Carrie McGinnis 12; Georgia Garrison 11; Erika
Hartings 10; Tori Carpenter 8

Site: Florence, SC (Smith Univ. Center)
Date: Sep 22, 2017   Attend: 133   Time: 2:20   
Referees: Scott Lowery, Ronnie Mutter
Line judges: Taylor Johnson, Jennie Polack
Liberos: Vaughn (FMU), Ewaldsen (GC)