HOMEWOOD, Ala. - In the second and final day of the Samford Tournament, the Georgia State volleyball team split a pair of matches, defeating Mercer and losing to No. 6 Minnesota.
The win over Mercer was the first of the 2013 season for the Panthers. They went 0-2 on their first day of play, falling to Presbyterian and Samford on Friday. The Panthers finished the weekend 1-3.
Minnesota
Georgia State began the day against No. 6 Minnesota, making it a tall order for the Panthers. But they battled hard against the Gophers before falling in three sets 25-18, 25-12, 25-21.
Dede Bohannon continued her strong play for the Panthers, adding seven kills and six digs to her season statistics. Andrea' Ezell had a strong match, notching eight kills and one block assist. Newcomer Kitan Ajanaku added seven more kills, while sophomore Natalie Nieto had four services aces. Senior Emily Averbeck posted 16 digs, inching her closer to the top of the Panther digs chart.
"I was really happy with our effort against Minnesota," head coach Tami Audia said. "Sometimes you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play against a top-10 team and we went out there not afraid. They were playing six people and so were we.
"We improved a lot from the night before. In the third game, it was 21-21. It could have gone either way and I'm proud of the effort that we gave."
Mercer
In their final match of the weekend, the Panthers were still in search of their first win of the season. Local rival Mercer was the last team left and Georgia State's only chance to get a win on the weekend.
It took four sets, but the Panthers prevailed over the Bears 23-25, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-13. Both teams finished the weekend 1-3.
"We ended up losing the first set because of too many errors," Audia said. "We took that break between the sets to talk and make adjustments. After that, we just took care of business. We were sharp and did what we needed to do. We did many things the right way and we saw positions get solidified. A few positions are still up for grabs, but we were finally able to close out a match."
Sophomore Eliza Zachary kicked her offense into high gear, coming up with 12 kills, one service ace and two solo blocks. Both Bohannon and freshman Molly Shonk added eight kills. Shonk also had four services aces.
Four Panthers had double-digit digs, with Averbeck leading the way with 20. Bohannon had another 12, while Shonk and Nieto had 11 apiece. The team had a total of six blocks.
"Molly [Shonk] had a great first weekend, especially for a freshman. She attacked well, but also showed she's a great all-around player. She was fun to watch and she's going to keep getting better," Audia said. "Eliza [Zachary] realized in the Mercer match what kind of player she could and should be. Natalia [Nieto] also did a great job this weekend."
The Panthers return to Atlanta for five days to practice before heading to Spartanburg, S.C. to play USC Upstate and Wofford at the USC Upstate Tournament on Sept. 7.
