Redshirt junior Ana Paula Ferreira had 18 kills (10 in game three) and 11 digs, but in their final home match of the season, the Georgia State volleyball team fell 3-0 (30-25, 30-25, 30-23) to Towson. With the loss, Georgia State falls to 6-10 in Colonial Athletic Association play and is eliminated from contention for the CAA Championships.
"Ana Paula really stepped up in the final game," said Georgia State head coach Mike Webster. "I thought Christen Garcia did an outstanding job, and Jordan Thomas really did well in a back-up setter's role for us today."
Garcia had 13 digs in the final game for the Panthers and 20 for the match. The 20 digs marked the third time this season that Garcia has recorded 20 or more digs in a three-game match. Garcia also goes into the final two matches of the season with 1,605 career digs.
Although the score was closer in the first two games than in game three, Towson led the entire way in each of the first two games. The Panthers trailed game one by eight points (16-8) but rallied back with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to three, 16-13. Towson would see their lead trimmed to two when a Leah Tenney service ace made the score 18-16. But Towson would answer back, going on a 3-0 spurt at 22-20 to extend the lead to five. That would be enough to do the Panthers in as Towson took the opening frame 30-25.
The Panthers fell behind early in game two, as Towson took a 14-7 lead. The lead hovered around the seven-eight point spread for most of the game until the Panthers came back in the latter stages. Trailing 25-18, a kill by Ferreira, a block by Michelle Trimble and Jocelyn Waldern, and a block solo by sophomore Liz Schaab made the score 25-21. Towson would answer back, taking four of the next five points to earn a game point opportunity. But the clinching point would not come easily for Towson, as a block by Trimble and Waldern and back-to-back kills for Trimble made the score 29-25. But off a timeout, a kill by Alysha Fanning gave Towson game two 30-25.
In the final game, Towson came out and took an early lead again. But down 8-4, the Panthers took five of the next six points to tie the score at 9-all. The teams traded the next eight points until a Towson attack error gave the Panthers their first lead at any point in the match, 14-13. After the teams traded points, a block by Tenney and Thomas gave State their only two-point lead of the match at 16-14. But from that point, it was almost all Towson. The Tigers scored the next three points to retake the lead. After the Panthers came back to tie the score at 17, Towson scored the next three points again to take a 20-17 lead and dash the hopes of the Panthers.
"We knew we had put ourselves in a tough position to qualify for the CAA Championships," said Coach Webster, "but this team never gave up. We had a tremendous amount of leadership shown by our upperclassmen during this last weekend."
The Panthers finish their home schedule at 6-6, totaling a .500 record at home for the second time in three seasons. Overall, the Panthers sit at 10-17, and will try to better that record this Friday when they travel to Northeastern. Match time in Boston, Mass., is set for 7:00 p.m.
Notes: Ferreira now has 936 career kills and 855 career digs...Tenney needs nine kills for 200 this season...Thomas had 19 kills in the back-up setter's role, including 12 in the final game...The Panthers fell to 3-12 in three game matches...The team is 3-3 in four-game matches and 4-2 in five-gamers...State averaged 136 fans at home this season, improving their average attendance from 2005 by 12 fans (last year's attendance included 638 fans for a match that was the start of Midnight Mania)...The Panthers had two home matches with over 200 fans in attendance for the first time in two seasons.
