Sophomore setter Noelle Boyd (pictured) and fifth-year senior Ana Paula Ferreira each had double-doubles as the Georgia State volleyball team swept Mercer 3-0 (30-26, 30-25, 30-23) Tuesday night in Macon, Ga.
"We wanted to concentrate on what we did with our first touches tonight, from serve reception, to blocking, to digging opposition attacks," said Panthers head coach Mike Webster. "We've been doing well offensively when we've been able to get into our system. Tonight, our focus on the first touch enabled us to get into our system more efficiently and make the plays we needed to make."
The Atlantic Sun Conference used tonight's match to debut a new webstreaming system, but it was Georgia State that put on the real show. Boyd had 45 assists (15 per game) and 10 digs to complete the double-double, while Ferreira had 12 kills and 13 digs.
State trailed the first game 18-14, but a 4-0 spurt, fueled by an ace and a kill by Ferreira and a kill by freshman Rachel Boryc, enabled the visitors to tie the game up. Even at 20-all, kills by Boryc, senior Amy Lusk, and sophomore Jocelyn Waldern gave the Panthers a three-point lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the opener.
After being even in game two through the first 30 points, State would seize control, opening up a four-point lead at 20-16 thanks to a kill by Waldern. State expanded the lead to as high as six before Mercer whittled the margin down to three at 28-25. From there, a dump kill by Boyd and a Mercer attack error on game point sent the Panthers into intermission with a 30-25 win in game two and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five.
In the finale, State went on a 13-4 run in the latter stages to open up a lead the Bears could not overcome. The biggest highlights of the run were the first two kills in the career of redshirt freshman
Lindsay Casey. Casey joined the Georgia State lineup after being out with an knee injury suffered in warm-ups before Georgia State's opening match in 2006 against Kennesaw State.
"We were really excited to get Lindsay onto the court," said Coach Webster. "She probably also had a service ace that she didn't get credited with, but she did very well for us on the court tonight, and her playing gave us a big lift."
The Panthers snapped a three-match losing streak in winning their 32nd match all-time against their rivals to the south. Now at 7-5 on the season, the Panthers will head to Clemson, S.C. for the Clemson Classic this Friday and Saturday. The Panthers will square off against Appalachian State, Kent State, and the host Tigers over the two-day event.
