ATLANTA – In a matchup with the second-place team in the conference, Georgia State's volleyball team fell 3-2 in a nail-biter to UT Arlington on Friday night at the GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers lost 25-21, 28-26, 22-25, 17-25, and 9-15.
Four Panthers finished with double-digit kill totals with junior Deidra Bohannon leading the way with 20 kills. Junior Natalia Nieto dished out 50 assists and recorded 22 digs to post her ninth double-double on the season. Junior Gabby Serafin led the team in digs with 23 and Bohannon added 18 to record her eighth double-double.
“We showed fight tonight. Ut Arlington is a physical team. Down 22-24 in the second set, we found the determination to recover and play Georgia State volleyball and take the set,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “We need more people to step up. Kristina Stinson had a good start tonight and Natalia [Nieto] was wonderful on defense. We had some good bright spots, we just have to piece it together.”
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
- The loss ended the Panthers' three-match win streak. The Mavericks extended their streak to eight matches, second best in the Sun Belt.
- Sophomore Kristina Stinson and junior Kitan Ajanaku posted 12 kills each and junior Eliza Zachary finished 14 blocks and four kills.
- The loss drops Georgia State to 5-8 in the conference and 7-15 overall. UTA improves to 21-5 overall and 11-3 in the conference.
The Panthers jumped all over the Mavericks in Set 1 as Stinson led the attack with six kills on .308 hitting. After breaking a 14-14 tie, GSU went up 22-15 before winning the first frame 25-21. The Panthers outhit the Mavericks .238-.214 in the first set.
Georgia State showed fight in the second set. UTA was in control for most of the set, but Zachary, who had six kills in the set, and her teammates stayed close enough to make a final push at the end. Down 22-24, libero Gabby Serafin came up big for GSU with a kill on set point. The set was tied at 26 when senior Andrea Book and Ajanaku posted back-to-back kills to win the set 28-26 and take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
After the break, the Mavericks took control of the game and began the comeback. UTA hit .324 in Set 3 and .450 in Set 4 to tie the match a 2-2. Riding the momentum, UT Arlington prevailed in the final set to pull off the comeback and defeat the Panthers 3-2.
Georgia State is quickly back in action on Saturday, Nov. 1 when they visit rival Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. For a 2 p.m. meeting. Follow along on Twitter via @GeorgiaStateVB as the Panthers face the Eagles for the second time this season. GSU took the first meeting 3-1 at the GSU Sports Arena.
