Charleston, S.C. - The Georgia State sand volleyball team fell 2-3 to No. 8 Charleston at the College of Charleston Tournament on Sunday. The Panthers went 1-2 over the weekend with the win coming against Mercer on Saturday. GSU is now 4-3 overall on the inaugural season.

The Panthers' strong No. 1 pair of Lane Carico and Katie Madewell improved to a perfect 7-0 after a straight set win over Charleston's top duo. They still have only lost one set all season, which came in their season opener against Stetson. Their streak of consecutive set wins is now 14 in a row since dropping the first set they played of the season at Cocoa Beach. In this 14 straight streak, the Panther pair has outscored opponents 294-187 for a +107 points in this run.

The other pair to pick up a win against Charleston was the Panthers' No. 3 flight, Katelyn Rawls and Milani Pickering. They won in two hard-fought sets, 21-18 and 22-20. The Panther No. 3 duo improves to 4-3 on the season.

The No. 2 flight for the Panthers, Jansen Button and Sara Olivova, fell in two close sets, 19-21 and 21-23. GSU's No. 2 pair is 4-3 on the season, giving the Panthers winning marks at their top three positions in the line-up.

The No. 4 flight of Alexis Townsend and Molly Smestad, also lost in a tight match. They fell in three sets, 17-21, 25-23, 8-15. Georgia State's No. 5 team of Nikki Senopoulos and Kaitlynn Hufstetler lost in two sets.

This tournament provided more unique first-season experiences of sand volleyball as the event was played through light rain, making the sand heavy and thick.The opening road match played at Cocoa Beach was directly on the Atlantic Ocean shores with a lighter sand. And, the home match was on GSU's newly poured sand on its brand new facility. All three events have provided different environments and the team has responded well as the winning record indicates.

The Panthers will next head to South Beach on March 30 and 31 to compete in the Florida International Tournament. Georgia State will host its own tournament, the Georgia State Sand Invitational, on April 6 and 7.

GSU (4-3)  vs College of Charleston (2-1)

1. L. Carico/K. Madewell (GSU) def. L. Theesfeld/M. Morello (CofC), 22-20, 21-12

2. D. Dorman/A. Zbojniewicz (CofC) def. J. Button/S. Olivova (GSU), 21-19, 23-21

3. K. Rawls/M. Pickering (GSU) def. K. Kolich/E. Neideffer (CofC), 21-18, 22-20

4. S. White/T. Davis (CofC) def. A. Townsend/M. Smestad (GSU), 21-17, 23-25, 15-8

5. C. Warren/E. Shelton (CofC) def. N. Senopoulos/K. Hufstetler (GSU), 21-12, 21-16

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