SPARTANBURG, S.C. - It took gutsy play and a lot of teamwork, but the Georgia State volleyball team won the USC Upstate Tournament and evened their record to 3-3 on Saturday. The Panthers went 2-0, defeating Upstate (0-5) in a come-from-behind 3-2 win, before going on to down Wofford (1-4) 3-1 in the afternoon match.
Sophomore Eliza Zachary was named tournament MVP, while sophomores Natalia Nieto and Kitan Ajanaku were named to the All-Tournament team.
“Natalia set two great matches and did a nice job running our offense,” head coach Tami Audia said. “Kitan played physically and did a great job running the right side. She was aggressive on both offense and defense. Eliza is a good player people pay attention to. She is consistent in her attacking, aggressive at the net and fun to watch. She will continue to get better as our offense continues to improve.”
USC Upstate
Georgia State lost the first two sets to the Spartans 25-18 and 25-17. The Panthers needed to rally in the third set to stay alive and were able to do just that. They grabbed the third set 25-19 and squeaked out the fourth set, 25-23.
It all came down to the tiebreaking fifth set. Georgia State found itself down 14-12, one point away from defeat, but a kill by Natalia Nieto and an error from the Spartans tied up the game. GSU reached deeper inside and gutted out a 19-17 victory.
“We started out not playing so well, but the match turned out well for us by the end,” Audia said. “The girls pulled it together, executed and played well. After the first two sets, we went into the locker room and talked about how it looked like six individuals were out there playing. We needed better rhythm and teamwork. We weren't working together. After that, the girls started doing what we can do, and that's when we turned it around.”
Ajanaku led the way with her 15 kills, followed by sophomore Sydney Hunsley with 13, freshman Molly Shonk with 12 and Zachary with 11. Senior Emily Averbeck had 29 digs, while Shonk added in 23.
On defense, Zachary had three solo blocks and two block assists. Ajanaku added in four more block assists, while four different Panthers had one service ace.
Wofford
In Georgia State's second match of the day, the Panthers took on Wofford, who defeated USC Upstate 3-1 Friday night. In more routine fashion, Georgia State took down the Terriers 25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18 on Saturday.
“While we did have good momentum going into this match, we also played good volleyball,” Audia said. “Wofford is a good team. Dede Bohannon didn't play well in our first match, but she came out much better against Wofford. We really were solid all round. We just need to make sure we play point-for-point every single match.”
Bohannon, who had just three kills in the Upstate match, had 13 against the Terriers, along with two service ace and nine digs. Ajanaku and Zachary tied with nine kills apiece, while junior Andrea' Ezell had six. Averbeck added 19 more digs to her career dig total.
Zachary had two solo blocks and four of the team's 10 block assists.
The Panthers will have two days off before hosting UAB in their home opener on Tues., Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. They will also host Clemson on Thurs., Sept. 12, in addition to holding the GSU Invitational Sept. 13-14 in the GSU Sports Arena.
