On Senior Night, the Georgia State Volleyball team put together one of its best all-around matches of the year, but in the end, it was not enough, as the College of William & Mary, ranked second in the CAA, took the match in four sets. The Panthers (3-22, 2-9 CAA) were led by sophomore Ashley Jones' fifth triple-double of the season, while senior Liz Schaab, playing in one of her final home matches at State finished with 16 kills.
“In the first three sets, we really kept our errors down,” commented Head Coach Mike Webster. “In the second and third sets, we dug ourselves in a couple of holes, but were able to get out and get back into each of the two sets. We have been working to avoid having those dips in focus in practice everyday because it will kill momentum anytime you have it.”
The Panthers came out firing in the first set, as we evident by the scoreboard. After falling behind 3-1, State would start to get momentum. On a kill by Schaab to put State up 8-7, the Panthers never looked back. Although the Tribe (18-6, 8-3 CAA) cut the lead to two at 16-14, a kill by senior Michelle Trimble, also playing in one of her final two home matches this weekend, got the ball rolling in the Panthers favor as they would go on a 6-0 run and never look back, taking the first 25-17.
After freshman Muki Kangwa tied the second set 3-3 with a kill, William & Mary would use an 8-2 run to take command early in the set. On a block by sophomore Alysa Long and Trimble, the Panthers cut the deficit to two. The Panthers would continue to battle and on another kill by Schaab, tie the score at 18. An ace by Jones and kill by sophomore Rachel Boryc put the Panthers up by two, but the Tribe would use a 7-2, including five straight kills, to take the second set, 25-22.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the third set would resemble the second set in too many ways, including the final score, 25-22. After falling behind early, State took a 4-3 lead on a kill by Schaab. A kill by Jones would tie the score at 7-7 before the Tribe would open a four point lead at 14-10 on a block by Kim Mount and Katie McCarney. The Panthers would come right back with a run of their own and on a kill by Kangwa, take a 19-16 lead late in the set. Another kill by Schaab would put the Panthers up again at 22-21, but the Tribe would finish of the set on a 4-0 run and take the momentum into the fourth.
The fourth and final set would not be as kind to State. A kill by Jones would tie the score at 4-4, but that would be the closest the set would be as the William & Mary front line attack finally proved to be too much for the Panther defense. After cutting the deficit to five at 15-10, the Tribe would use a 10-1 run to finish off the set, taking the fourth, 25-11.
“This team has shown a lot of resilence all year,” stated Webster. “We need to continue to use these last three matches to develop and grow and if we do that, I will be happy. I think all three of our final matches are winnable and I am going to challenge our team to make sure we put forth the best effort in all three of them.”
Jones finished the match with 11 kills, 21 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Chelsea Perry finished the match with 19 assists, while redshirt-sophomore Audrey Cantrell added a team-high 24 digs. Boryc added seven kills and 17 assists, while Kangwa also finished the match with 10 digs.
The Tribe was led by Erin Skipper's 18 kills and 10 digs, while Ginny Bray added 10 kills. Kim Mount led the match with 36 assists.
Georgia State will play its final home match of the 2008 season on Sunday as they take on VCU beginning at 2:00 p.m. Admission to the Sports Arena is free of charge.
