Audio - Coach Mike Webster Postgame
The Georgia State volleyball team opened the 2009 Great 8 Volleyball Challenge presented by Residence Inn-Kennesaw with a 3-0 win over North Carolina A&T on Friday evening in the GSU Sports Arena.
The win improved the Panthers to 4-1, while the Aggies fell to 0-5. After coming from behind to take the first set 25-23, State cruised to 25-16 and 25-13 second and third set wins.
Redshirt-sophomore transfer Vineece Verdun, playing in front of her first home crowd, scored a team-high 11 kills with just two errors for a .529 attack percentage. Verdun added a pair of block solos for a team-high 13 points.
Junior Ashley Jones added nine kills and 15 assists to fall just short of a double-double, while adding three digs.
Senior Jocelyn Waldern and sophomore Muki Kangwa added five kills a piece. Freshman Jamie Freeman scored of pair of service aces in the win.
Rachel Boryc scored a team high 19 assists and six digs, while redshirt-junior Audrey Cantrell continued to move up the all-time Panther digs list, adding 19 in the match. Cantrell moved within 75 digs of the top 10 and now has 704 for her career.
The Panthers hit .264 in the match, while holding North Carolina A&T to just a .012 mark.
The Aggies were led by Tiffany Mellette who scored nine kills. Janae Mitchell added six kills and 10 digs in the loss. Kaneisha Winfield scored a team-high 17 assists.
In the second match of the evening, Presbyterian College defeated ULM in five sets, 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 23-25 and 15-11.
Three players scored double-digit kills for the Blue Hose, while Kilee Ruppe scored a team-high 45 assists.
ULM was paced by Mari O'Neal with 17 kills, while Meghan McCoy scored 38 assists.
Web-streaming of all Georgia State matches will be available live on GeorgiaStateSports.com this weekend and throughout the season. Live stats of all matches of this weekend's event will also be provided on GeorgiaStateSports.com.
Play will resume on Saturday morning with North Carolina A&T taking on Presbyterian College in the opener at 9 a.m. The Panthers will follow at 11 a.m., taking on Louisiana-Monroe.
