If Georgia Southern wanted to strap on its dancing shoes and return to the NCAA volleyball tournament for the first time since 2003, it had to beat College of Charleston in the Southern Conference tournament championship.
    That’s a tall order, considering the Lady Cougars (29-6) have beaten the Eagles three times in a row dating back to October 10, 2009.
    No problem.
    Georgia Southern (27-8) swept Charleston Sunday in straight sets, taking the 2010 SoCon title and punching its ticket to the NCAAs for only the third time in program history.
    “I’ve just never seen them that focused or that intent on trying to get something accomplished,” said GSU coach Chad Callihan. “We were able to pick out some things in the scouting report and really just continued to attack it.”
    Since 2001, the Cougars have dominated the league, winning the SoCon title six times and playing in the title game nine times.
    In the span, only the Eagles (3) and Furman (1) have won SoCon championships.
    “I think when you talk about Southern Conference volleyball, especially over the last decade, the College of Charleston has been the cream of the crop,” Callihan said. “They’ve set the bar very high, and to be able to beat a team that we have so much respect for says a lot about our performance and about the effort that we were willing to put forth.”
    The Eagles closed out the sweep with a 25-20 win in the final set. It was the first time Charleston has been swept since dropping a 3-0 game to Florida in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament.
    “I thought we did a great job of just staying composed,” said Callihan. “We did a really good job of staying in the moment and focusing on the next point. We were up by as many as eight or nine at some times, and we were down by as many as two or three at times. But our game plan and our expression never changed.”
    The Lady Eagles will await their seeding and first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament, which will be announced Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNews.
    The members of the team will not be the only ones watching, as Callihan and the Eagles have gone door to door and making themselves visible in the community, earning fans one at a time.
    “It kind of felt like this weekend we were playing for a lot more than 15 people on the team and the coaching staff,” said Callihan. “We were trying to represent the community and represent Georgia Southern. We’ve had an outpouring of support. We’re still trying to catch up on text messages and emails from people who are excited about what we’ve been able to do over the last year and a half.”
    After the SoCon tournament, Georgia Southern’s Kate Van Dyke, Sarah Gildersleeve and Bethany Sanford were each named to the 2010 All-Southern Conference Tournament team.

    Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.