EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – In its opening round tournament of the SIUE Cougar Invitational, the Georgia State Volleyball team swept Arkansas Pine-Bluff in three sets.

The Panthers (5-7) defeated the Golden Lions (4-14) 25-14, 25-11, 25-16, with balanced attacking from the Georgia State offense. Sophomore Eliza Zachary led the team with nine kills, followed by redshirt sophomore Kitan Ajanaku with eight. Freshman Molly Shonk chipped in another five, and three other Panthers had four.

Every Panther but one had at least two digs and three different Panthers had a solo block. The team combined for 10 total blocks. Freshman Kristina Stinson led all servers with three service aces.

The team hit .270 for the match, but .321 in the third set. GSU outhit Arkansas Pine-Bluff 34-24 in kills, but the telling statistic was the Golden Lions' 25 errors to the Panthers' 10.

Georgia State will return to action Saturday at 11 a.m. ET against DePaul. The Panthers will then take  on SIU-Edwardsville at 8 p.m. to finish out the tournament.