The Georgia State volleyball team opened the 2009 season Friday with a pair of 3-0 victories on the first day of the Hilton RTP/North Carolina Central University Tournament. The Panthers took the opening morning match against The Citadel before sweeping the host Eagles in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Panthers took the first set 25-17, hitting at a .500 clip. State continued to shut down the Bulldogs the rest of the match, taking the second and third sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-19.
In the nightcap, State opened equally as strong against the Eagles, scoring a .688 attack percentage to earn a 25-10 first set win. The Panthers continued their strong play to sweep the second and third sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-18.
"We were very anxious heading into the first match," commented head coach Mike Webster. "The team did a good job of settling down and playing very aggressive from the service line in both matches. One of our goals going into the weekend was to play our game and make it difficult on our opponents and I think we did a very good job of that today. I am also pleased at how well the newcomers and returners have integrated together to play as one solid unit."
Georgia State (2-0) was led by junior Ashley Jones' 10 kills and .444 attack percentage in the opener. Freshman newcomer Jamie Freeman added nine kills with just one error, while also tying the team high with six digs.
Sophomore Muki Kangwa, who showed dramatic improvement for the Panthers in the second half of last season, landed five kills on just nine attempts. Kangwa scored a career high six service aces and tied Freeman with six digs.
Junior Rachel Boryc added eight kills on just 14 attempts as the Panthers hit .365 as a team. Lone senior Jocelyn Waldern added five kills on seven attempts, while sophomore setter Chelsea Perry scored a career high 33 assists in the victory.
Redshirt-sophomore Vineece Verdun added five kills and a pair of block solos.
The Citadel (0-2) was led by Jestila Tatum who scored 15 kills, while Alyssa Holum added 20 assists. State held the Bulldogs to a .195 attack percentage, while scoring 11 aces for the match.
The Panthers came out equally strong in the nightcap against NCCU (1-1). State scored 11 kills in the first set without an error for a .688 hitting percentage, while holding the Eagles to a .000 hitting percentage for the match. Jones once again led the way with eight kills and just one error on 13 attempts, while adding six digs.
Perry paced the squad with 29 assists and scored five service aces, building off of her career high of 33 in the opener.
Audrey Cantrell rebounded with 12 digs in the second match after scoring four in the opener. The redshirt-junior was third in the CAA in digs in 2008.
In just her second match with the Panthers, Vineece Verdun scored 10 kills on 17 attempts, while Rachel Boryc added eight kills and eight digs.
The Panthers finished the match with 15 service aces and a .267 hitting percentage.
The Eagles were led by Avaniki Campbell's five kills, while Kiara Brown added 14 assists.
Georgia State will return to action on Saturday morning with an 11 a.m. match against High Point. The Panthers will conclude their first event of the year with a 3 p.m. match against South Carolina State.
Tournament Standings
T1. Georgia State 2-0
T1. Elon 2-0
T3. UNC Wilmington 1-1
T3. High Point 1-1
T3. N.C. Central 1-1
T3. UNC Asheville 1-1
T7. S.C. State 0-2
T7. The Citadel 0-2
