Macon, Ga.- Defensive specialist Emily Averbeck returned from an injury to lead Georgia State with 12 digs but the Panther volleyball team (4-8) lost to Mercer (3-8) Tuesday night at University Center in three nail-biting sets, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23.
Muki Kangwa highlighted the Panther attack with 14 kills and Vineece Verdun added 10 as GSU continues to regain its numbers from a slew of early-season injuries.
Kaylee McGrew piled up a match-high 29 assists in the loss, just the Panthers' fifth in 37 meetings all-time with Mercer.
The Panthers climbed in front early in the first set and went up 14-11 after a smooth kill from Kangwa. After controlling much of the opening game, Mercer would rally back and claim a 23-22 lead. Andrea Ezell tied things up with a big block for GSU, but the Bears won the next two points and earned the first set, 25-23, as a Verdun kill sailed long on set point.
Kangwa led the Panthers with six kills in the opening frame and Averbeck, who missed the previous four matches with an ankle injury, made her first appearance during the set's final points.
In a back-and-forth second set, Loren Byerly's slam lifted GSU to a 9-8 advantage. The Panthers would fall behind later, 16-12, and attempted to rally behind another Byerly kill, which made it 20-18. GSU would not come any closer in the game, however, as the Bears won five of the next seven points for a 25-20 win and a two-set lead.
Georgia State fell behind early in the third, going down 7-3 after Verdun was blocked by Mercer's Jennifer Katona. The Panthers would surge back and tie it, 12-12, on Freeman's fourth kill of the set. Later, with the Panthers trailing 17-15, Ezell found the line on a kill into the corner to bring GSU within one and Verdun would send back a block to put the Panthers ahead, 21-20. Back-to-back kills put Mercer ahead for good, however, and the Bears won the match on a GSU hitting error, 25-23 in the third.
Kangwa raised her kills-per-set season average to 4.44 after entering Tuesday's match with the highest total of any Colonial Athletic Association player.
The Panthers are now 2-3 this season in three-set matches and fell to 0-3 on the road. It was GSU's seventh-straight defeat on the year after beginning the season 4-1.
Just four of GSU's 12 players- Freeman, Ezell, McGrew and Nevena Peeva- have appeared in all 12 of the team's matches this year.
Georgia State returns to the road Thursday through Sunday by playing in the Bash in the Boro, hosted by Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. The Panthers begin play Thursday at 5 p.m. against South Carolina State (4-6).
