ATLANTA- Led by seniors Muki Kangwa and Vineece Verdun, who combined for 29 kills and 13 digs, the Georgia State volleyball team (12-15, 6-4 CAA) topped James Madison (17-8, 7-4 CAA) in four sets (25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22) in a battle of Colonial Athletic Association contenders Sunday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
The Panthers, who entered the day in fifth place in the CAA, took down a Dukes squad that was in a three-way tie for second in the league.
Kangwa's 15 kills and 11 digs Sunday gave the veteran from Fort Myers, Fla. her 12th double-double of the year. Verdun hit an impressive .565 on the day, racking up 14 kills while also blocking five attacks.
'Our defense was on fire, so it gave us a lot of good chances to hit on offense," said Kangwa. "(Setter) Kaylee (McGrew) got me the ball a lot, which was a testament to our defense."
Freshman Andrea Noe added 12 kills, while Jamiee Freeman and Emily Averbeck shared a team high with 16 digs. McGrew had 45 assists from the setter position.
The win was the Panthers' 10th CAA home victory in 12 tries under Tami Audia, in her second year as head coach.
"We knew that (JMU) would come out and be aggressive, they're a good team," said Audia. "But we're a good team, too, and I think we're starting to peak now."
The Panthers came out determined to pressure the Dukes from the opening serve. GSU opened an 11-6 advantage in the first game, and later a kill from Noe made it 19-13. The home team hit a blistering .462 on the attack en route to a 25-17 first-set win to set the tone.
GSU again started well in the second, taking a 13-7 lead on a spike from Freeman. After the Dukes surged ahead to claim a 20-18 advantage, a serving error and a kill from Andrea Book brought the set even. Later, up 23-22, GSU got back-to-back kills from Verdun to close out the second set, 25-22.
The Dukes controlled the tempo throughout the third set, using five kills from Danielle Erb and four from Kelly Maguire to claim their first victory of the afternoon, 25-18.
In the fourth and final set, the Panthers found themselves down 18-14 after a kill by JMU's Lizzy Briones. GSU regrouped and scored the next five points, led by a pair of kills from Noe, to take a 19-18 lead. The Panthers then scored five of the next seven points and took a 24-20 edge on a spike by Kangwa. On its third match point, GSU claimed the win after a Dukes attack error for a 25-22 victory that sealed the match.
The Panthers picked up their second straight win after defeating George Mason in five sets on Friday at home.
"Our home crowd has been awesome," added Kangwa. "That helps us feed off the energy- we're a good energy team."
The Panthers have four matches remaining on the year- two on the road, then two at home.
GSU heads to the state of Virginia this weekend, taking on William & Mary in Williamsburg Friday at 7 p.m. before facing VCU in Richmond on Saturday, also at 7 p.m. The Panthers lost to the Tribe earlier this season in three sets but defeated the Rams in a shutout at home.
The Panthers will wrap up their season with home matches Nov. 11 against Northeastern and Nov. 13 against Hofstra.
The top six CAA teams will qualify for the league tournament in November, site to be determined.
