Junior Amy Lusk had 14 kills, 17 digs, and six total blocks as Georgia State bounced back to defeat George Mason University 3-1 (26-30, 30-26, 30-22, 30-27) Saturday evening in Fairfax, Va.
"Any win on the road is a big win for us," said Panthers head coach Mike Webster. "Wins like this are always magnified at the end of the season when teams are bunched together in the standings."
State (4-7, 2-2 CAA) dropped the first game 30-26 as the Patriots had a kill advantage over the Panthers 18-15. The Panthers had one more service error and one more setting error in the game than the home squad, helping to contribute to the score in the frame.
But the Panthers would begin to get back to playing the type of volleyball that earned them a berth into the CAA Championships last season in game two. The integral points of the game came with the score tied at 23-all. Reshirt junior Ana Paula Ferreira had a kill to put Georgia State up 24-23, then a pair of attack errors by the Patriots gave State an advantage of three points they would not relinquish.
The third game was even through the first 36 points until the Panthers came back with a kill by sophomore Michelle Trimble and a block by Ferreira to make it 20-18. Up 25-22, the Panthers would go on a 5-0 run to seal the game. A pair of kills by sophomore Liz Schaab, a pair of attack errors by the Patriots, and a clinching block by Lusk and sophomore Leah Tenney made it 30-25 in the game three win for State.
The final game would see State build leads as big as six points before the Patriots trimmed the advantage to one at 27-26. With momentum on the side of the Patriots, the Panthers used a George Mason attack error bookended by a pair of Lusk kills to seal the deal 30-27.
Lusk was one of three Panthers with double-digit kill totals, as she was joined by Ferreira and Tenney with 10 a piece. Ferreira also compiled double-figure dig totals on consecutive nights, chipping in 14 digs to the defense.
Senior libero Christen Garcia had 18 digs, leaving her 57 short of the school record for career digs.
The Panthers now find themselves in a logjam for fifth place in the CAA, as they sit tied with Virginia Commonwealth and James Madison at 2-2. State will have just one match in CAA play next weekend as they travel to Wilmington, N.C. for the UNC Wilmington Invitational. In addition to the league match with the Seahawks, State will play Winthrop and Gardner-Webb.
