Led by three players with double-digit kills, the first-place Georgia State volleyball team extended its winning streak to six on Tuesday night with a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20) win over Kennesaw State at the GSU Sports Arena.
The match was moved from North Cobb High School to the Sports Arena due to flooding in Cobb County and the Panthers used the home court advantage to tie the longest winning streak under head coach Mike Webster.
The Panthers improved to 12-3 on the season and are off to its best start since the 2003 season when the Panthers opened the year 14-1. Georgia State improved to 4-0 over the Owls.
"Kennesaw State did a great job on the outside," commented Webster. "Sabrita (Gulley) and Asjia (Stokes) were extremely athletic and a lot for us to handle tonight."
The Panthers took the first set 25-23, but State hurt themselves in set two with 14 errors, allowing the Owls to tie up the match at a set a piece.
"We really hurt ourselves in the second game," stated Webster. "With that many errors, it makes it difficult to finish off a set. However, I am proud of the final result and for our team to come back in the third set like we did. I think this match really prepared us for our CAA opener on Saturday."
The Panthers scored double-digit kills from junior Ashley Jones, redshirt-sophomore Vineece Verdun and sophomore Muki Kangwa.
Jones once again fell just shy of a triple-double, scoring 16 kills, 21 assists and eight digs. Jones already has two this season and has fallen one dig shy on two more occasions.
Verdun scored a career-high 15 kills and a .346 hitting percentage, while Kangwa also scored a career-high in kills with 14.
Sophomore Chelsea Perry added 30 assists in the win, while Audrey Cantrell moved with 28 digs of ninth place on the all-time Panthers list with 20 in the match.
Junior Rachel Boryc added seven kills, while lone senior Jocelyn Waldern added six and a .385 hitting percentage.
Freshman Jamiee Freeman finished the match with a career-high 15 digs.
Kennesaw State fell to 7-4 with the loss. The Owls were led by Asjia Stokes' 19 kills, while Sabrita Gulley added 14. Selina O'Leary finished with a team-high 17 digs.
The Panthers will return home on Saturday for the CAA opener against UNC Wilmington. The match against the Seahawks will serve as the Panthers annual "Dig for the Cure" with proceeds from the match going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta Affiliate. Donations are now being accepted. For more information, contact assistant coach Ada Bazin at 404-413-4068.
Live stats and web-streaming of the match will be provided via GeorgiaStateSports.com.
