FLORENCE, SC – Sparked by the play of four-year starters Georgia Garrison and Carrie McGinnis on Senior Day, Francis Marion University swept to a 27-25, 25-21, 25-21 win over Lander University, Saturday afternoon (Oct. 20) in Peach Belt Conference volleyball action.

Francis Marion climbs to 12-11 overall and 4-5 in conference play and moves to within a half-game of fourth place in the PBC standings. The second-place Bearcats drop to 19-5 and 5-3.

Garrison registered seven kills and in the process surpassed 1,000 for her career and became only the fourth Patriot over the past 20 seasons to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs – joining Kelly Feber, Jackie Phiel, and Emma Giden. Garrison also dug up 13 balls and served a season-high six aces – one shy of her career high.

McGinnis handed out 22 assists from her setter position and recorded a career-high five kills. She was honored prior to the match for reaching 2,500 career assists earlier in the season, and her updated career total of 2,638 is the second highest total for a Patriot in the past 15 seasons.

Sophomore Kayla Arthur paced FMU on offense with 10 kills, while freshman Iyanla Thigpen tallied six kills and six blocks. Sophomore libero Natalie Ferrell recorded a team-high 19 digs.

Kaitlyn Krafka led Lander with 12 kills, while Hannah Hritz added 11. Setter Madilyn Reed dished out 35 assists, while libero Hannah McManus dug up 20 balls.

In the tightly contested first set – that featured eight lead changes and six ties – FMU claimed a 26-25 edge on a Lander attack error. Arthur then providing the winning point with a kill off a set from McGinnis.

Garrison served a trio of aces in a 7-1 spurt to start set two and the Patriots never trailed en route to the 25-21 victory that was capped by another Garrison ace. FMU trailed 11-7 in set three, but rebounded with an 8-0 run – behind the serving of Garrison – to claim a 15-11 advantage. The Bearcats later countered with their own 7-0 run to deadlock the match at 21-21. A pair of kills from freshman Alyssa Hansen and a Lander attack error brought the Patriots to match-point at 24-21. Garrison then ended the memorable afternoon with a kill.

Post-match comments from seniors Georgia Garrison and Carrie McGinnis

Francis Marion Univ. def. Lander University 27-25,25-21,25-21

Lander University (19-5 (5-3)) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Krafka
12-0-2; Hannah Hritz 11-0-1; Kyra Ross 8-2-2; Reilly Kuenstler 3-0-7;
Madilyn Reed 2-2-3; Imari Ashley 2-0-3; Hannah McManus 0-3-0; Totals
38-7-10.0. (Assists) - Madilyn Reed 35. (Dig leaders) - Hannah McManus
20; Melissa Luther 13; Kyra Ross 11; Kaitlyn Krafka 8; Madilyn Reed 8

Francis Marion Univ. (12-11 (4-5)) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kayla Arthur
10-1-1; Alyssa Hansen 9-0-2; Georgia Garrison 7-6-2; Iyanla Thigpen
6-0-6; Carrie McGinnis 5-0-0; Courtney Abdur-Rahim 4-1-3; Finn
Millians 0-2-0; Natalie Ferrell 0-1-0; Totals 41-11-7.0. (Assists) -
Carrie McGinnis 22; Finn Millians 10. (Dig leaders) - Natalie Ferrell
19; Courtney Abdur-Rahim 15; Georgia Garrison 13; Alexis Watts 10

Site: Florence, SC (Smith Univ. Center)
Date: Oct 20, 2018 Attend: 102 Time: 1:40
Referees: Morgan Shannon, Michael Holder
Line judges: Dewey Capps, Dan Jampole
Liberos: Ferrell (FMU), McManus (LU)