ATLANTA- Muki Kangwa drilled 15 kills as the Georgia State volleyball team shut out its second straight Colonial Athletic Association foe at the GSU Sports Arena Friday night, topping VCU, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-23).
It was the Panthers' first win over the Rams since 2007, ending a four-match skid.
Georgia State improved to 8-11 overall this season with the victory, 2-0 in conference play. The Rams fell to 5-12 overall and 0-3 in CAA action.
It was GSU's third straight victory overall, tying a season high. The Panthers are now 8-1 over the last two seasons in home CAA contests.
Hot serving from the Panthers was the story all night, as GSU posted a season-high .959 serving percentage, well ahead of VCU's .857 mark.
Vineece Verdun tied a career high with three service aces, while team leader Jamiee Freeman added three herself. Freeman now has a CAA-high 31 for the year.
"We served the ball really well tonight and got (VCU) out of their system," head coach Tami Audia said. "We also made a few great defensive plays when we needed them and I think that really sparked us and gave us confidence that we could take (the match)."
A very tight contest throughout, the teams battled to 20-20 ties in each of the first two sets, and an 18-18 deadlock in the third.
In the opening frame, Verdun put down one a kill to break a 22-all tie and give GSU a one-point lead. After VCU tied it once more, the Rams committed service and ball handling errors to hand the Panthers the first set, 25-23.
Deadlocked at 20 in the second set, the Panthers once again applied the pressure and forced three straight Ram errors in taking a 23-20 lead. Later, another Ram serve found the net on set point, giving GSU a 25-22 second-set win and 2-0 lead.
With the Panthers holding a slim 19-18 lead in the third set, Freeman dropped in her third ace to give GSU a two point cushion. After the Rams rallied for a 23-23 tie, Kangwa belted her 15th kill to give the Panthers a match point. GSU then won the set, 25-23, and the match, on another Rams error.
"There was never a time that we really looked rattled tonight," Audia added. "When VCU would score a few points, we would come back and take the lead. It feels good to get another conference win."
Senior Chelsea Perry had 28 assists from the setter position to lead GSU, while Emily Averbeck had a team-high 11 digs.
The Panthers quickly turn around to face William & Mary (5-8, 0-2 CAA) on Sunday at the GSU Sports Arena, beginning at 1 p.m. The Panthers look to move to 3-0 in CAA play for the second straight year.
