ARLINGTON, Texas - After falling behind 2-1, the Georgia State volleyball team rallied to win the next two sets to win its second five-setter of the season. The Panthers also improved their win streak to four straight Sun Belt matches with the win over UT Arlington.
Georgia State (8-17, 4-8 Sun Belt) took down the Mavericks (15-11, 8-5) 27-25, 25-28, 15-25, 25-22, 15-11. GSU is now 2-3 when matches go all the way to five sets.
Sophomore Dede Bohannon had a career high 27 kills in the effort, besting her previous mark of 22 she set earlier this season. Senior libero Emily Averbeck joined the 30-dig club with her 34 digs. This is the second time Averbeck has eclipsed 30 digs.
Four Panthers finished with double-digit digs, while just two had double-digit kills. Bohannon had 27 kills, while sophomore Eliza Zachary had 15 on .316 hitting percentage.
"This was a great road test for us tonight, as the fans were really into it," head coach Tami Audia said. "Our team rose to the challenge and gave it their all. We played well out of the gate. We didn't play badly in games two and three, but it obviously wasn't enough. The team responded with our backs against the wall and we picked up another road win."
In the first set, the Mavericks led the Panthers 20-17 as the set came near the end. Georgia State then went a 5-2 run to tie it at 22-22. Again, the teams tied at 24-all and 25-all. GSU then used two Maverick errors to take the first set 27-25.
The second and third sets were mostly UT Arlington. The Mavericks outhit the Panthers and won the two sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
"In the second and third sets, our attacking percentage dropped," Audia said. "We had too many attacking errors, which obviously affected our kill-to-error ratio. We just didn't quite put it all together like the other sets."
The fourth set was do or die for the Panthers. UTA came out firing, taking a 5-1 lead, before the Panthers stormed back to tie it at 7-7. At 10-12, the Panther went on a 7-2 run to go ahead 17-12. Georgia State led 23-18 before the Mavericks had a mini-comeback, making the score 24-22, before a Zachary kill put the set away.
The fifth was incredibly close, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage before the Panthers stepped up and took a 13-11 lead. An error from UTA and a Molly Shonk kill sealed the win for GSU.
"Tonight was truly a team effort," Audia said. "Dede did a great job for us. She really impressed me, as UTA had big blockers and they knew she was going to get the ball. She still managed to score on them. Emily set the tone for our team - she led when she needed to and she got after balls. I'm proud of this whole team."
Georgia State will have another road test Saturday night when they visit Texas State (17-11, 7-6), which lost Friday night to Western Kentucky 3-0. The matchup in San Marcos will start at 7:30 p.m. ET.
