Hempstead, N.Y. - The Georgia State volleyball team scored one of its best defense efforts of the season, but Hofstra's offense proved too much in a 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21) win over the Panthers on Friday night. Junior Ashley Jones scored her 15th double-double of the season to lead the Panthers.
With the loss, Georgia State fell to 16-11 and 3-8 in the CAA this season. Hofstra improved to 11-18 and 5-6 in the CAA with just over a week to play in the season. The two teams split the regular season series with each team winning on its home court.
"I thought out physical effort was good tonight," commented head coach Mike Webster. "I think we will need to give our hitters more of a chance to excel when we face Northeastern tomorrow night."
Jones finished the match with a team-high 15 kills and a career-high 22 digs. The junior also added seven block assists, part of the Panthers 13 total blocks. She was just three total blocks shy of her seventh triple-double of the season.
Redshirt-sophomore Vineece Verdun added eight kills and eight total blocks, tying the Panthers season-high for a single match and establishing a new career-high.
Redshirt-junior Audrey Cantrell added a career-high five kills, while adding 15 digs. Cantrell moved into fifth place on the all-time digs list with 1103, surpassing April DeCoste (2001-04). The Rockwall, Texas native also moved into fifth on the single season digs list with 461. Cantrell is now just 52 digs behind Kumi Ishiyama (2002) for the most digs in a single season.
Sophomore Chelsea Perry added 27 assists, while freshman Jamiee Freeman scored 12 digs, scoring three kills and a .429 hitting percentage.
Senior Jocelyn Waldern added a pair of service aces for State. The Panthers rank fifth in the NCAA in service aces per set entering the weekend, adding three more to their total on Friday night.
Monica Knight led the Pride with 22 kills and 14 digs, while Anissa Whitney added 11 kills and eight digs. Rachel August finished the match with a team-high 44 assists.
Georgia State will conclude its six-match road trip on Saturday night at Northeastern. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Panthers return home for Senior Weekend on November 13th, for the final weekend of the regular season, as the Panthers will take on VCU at 5:30 p.m. State will conclude the 2009 season on Sunday, November 15th against William & Mary.
