ARLINGTON, Texas – In the final road match of the season, Georgia State's volleyball team was defeated by third-place UT Arlington on its Senior Day in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks took care of the Panthers in three sets, winning 25-20, 25-19, and 25-12.
Junior Deidra Bohannon finished with a double-double on 14 kills and 10 digs. Junior Natalia Nieto had 11 digs and sophomore Molly Shonk led the team with 12. Sophomore Kristina Stinson finished with 6 kills and juniors Eliza Zachary and Kitan Ajanaku each recorded 5 kills.
“Limiting our unforced errors was the difference in this match. We love this conference because you have to play your best every night,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “We look forward to returning home to close out the regular season in front of our fans.”
Georgia State started off hot on offense and defense, but it was the serving game that kept the Panthers from pulling away. Set 1 was tied at 10 and Georgia State had already amounted five service errors, allowing the Mavericks to stay close. UTA would use a 9-2 run to take control of the set and never turn back. Georgia State battled back at the end, but UTA would claim Set 1 25-20.
The Mavericks used their blocking to jump in front in Set 2. UTA finished the match with 13 total team blocks. Georgia State once again fought hard to pull within five at the end, but fell 25-19 to UTA.
Georgia State and UT Arlington traded points in Set 3 and were tied at 6. UT Arlington put a 5-2 run together to go up 11-8. The Mavericks kept the pressure on and the Panthers took a timeout, trailing 15-9. Unlike the first two sets, UT Arlington did not allow the Panthers to creep back in. The Mavericks closed out the set and the match on an impressive 9-2 run to complete the 3-0 sweep with a 25-12 Set 3 win.
The Panthers (9-18, 7-11 SBC) have two matches remaining on the regular-season schedule. GSU hosts Troy on Friday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. and Appalachian State on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. Georgia State is one of four schools fighting for three spots in the Sun Belt tournament, set to begin on Nov. 27 in San Marcos, Texas. GSU is currently in seventh with the top eight schools going to the tournament.
