The Georgia State University volleyball team lost a five-set heart-breaker to Mercer on Tuesday night in the GSU Sports Arena. After falling one kill shy of a triple-double on Friday night, sophomore Ashley Jones, filling in for the injured Jessica Tjaden at setter, got her first career triple-double tonight, scoring 13 kills, 15 assists and 15 digs.
After falling behind 9-1 in the first set, the Panthers (0-15, 0-2 CAA) effort would be outstanding the rest of the night. State would slowly claw back into the set and the crowd of over 300 could feel the momentum swinging the Panthers' way. A kill by senior Michelle Trimble would cut the deficit to five at 10-5. Later in the set, senior Liz Schaab would cut the deficit to four at 16-12. State would continue to claw back and cut the deficit to one on several occasions before an attack error by Mercer's Rachel Urbelis tied the score at 22. Unfortunately, the Bears (8-6, 2-0 A-Sun) would use a 3-0 run to take the first set, 25-22.
The Panthers would fall behind early again in the second set. State would trail 5-1 early and get behind 15-10 midway through the set and continue to trail 20-15 before Schaab would take over. Georgia State would finish the set on a 10-2 run during which time Schaab would score six kills, including three in a row at one point. State would take the second set 25-22. Schaab would finish the evening earning a double-double of 21 kills and 16 digs.
Ironically, State would come out strong in the third set, taking an early 4-0 lead, but the Bears would be the one scoring the final point this time around. The set would feature five ties, the first coming when Mercer tied the score at 5-5. State would fall behind at 12-11 and never be able to regain the lead, though several times late in the set, they would come close. In the end, Mercer took the set 25-22.
Knowing that Mercer would be looking to end the match in four sets, Georgia State came out strong in the fourth set and never trailed. After taking an early 3-0 lead on a kill by Trimble, Mercer would tie the score at 4-4. That would be the last time the Bears would tie it up as State used a balanced attack to slowly pull away. The lead would grow to seven at 15-8 on another kill by Trimble, who would finish the match tying Schaab with a team high 21 kills. Mercer would try to get back into the set, but the Panthers would be too much, earning the fourth, 25-19.
The fifth and final set would be as close as the first four. There would be a total of nine ties in the set and neither team would own more than a two-point lead until the final result. After falling behind 3-1, a pair of kills by Jones would tie the set at 3-3. State would take a 6-4 lead, before Mercer clawed back to tie the score. The Panthers would once again go up by two at 10-8 and lead 12-11 before Mercer would finish the set on a 4-0 run, taking the fifth, 15-12.
“I am extremely proud of the outstanding effort the team put forth tonight,” commented Head Coach Mike Webster. “We kept our composure all evening and did not let a couple of bad situations bother us. Although we did not win, I am proud of the effort put in by the entire team. Ashley got her first triple-double, while Liz got 21 kills and a double-double. Michelle got 21 kills, Rachel had 45 assists and a double-double, Audrey had 30 digs. It was a true team effort this evening.”
The Bears were led by Karen Dorris who had 16 kills, while Libby Hansch added 14. Kelly Jansen had a team high 23 assists. Dorris also led the team with 24 digs.
The Panthers will return to conference play on Saturday as State travels to face UNC-Wilmington (5-9, 0-2 CAA) at 2:00 p.m.
