ATLANTA – A total team effort launched Georgia State into its first conference tournament since 2011 on Friday night with the team's come-from-behind five-set win over Troy in the GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers rallied to win 20-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-22, and 16-14 to earn a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championship next week in San Marcos, Texas.
“We had several players step up. It took everyone on the team tonight to get this win,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “Brianna Jones, what a match. She came in and found a way to get kills and make a huge impact on our team off the bench. Molly Shonk coming up with 24 digs in what is a new role for her was big. Morgan Patterson and Andrea' Ezell both came off the bench and made a difference as well. Just a full team effort.”
The rally started in Set 4 with the Panthers trailing two sets to one. The Trojans were on top 17-11 and appeared to be in control of the contest. Georgia State called a timeout and took the next point to pull within five. Sophomore Molly Shonk stepped back to serve. Two aces, six kills and two Trojan timeouts later and the Panthers held a 21-17 lead. The 10-point run wouldn't be the end of the magic for the Panthers, however.
After GSU evened the match at two sets, Troy jumped out to a comfortable lead in Set 5. Nothing seemed to be going the Panthers' way and it felt like the Trojans had finally put away Georgia State. Polhamus had already used both timeouts when Georgia State put three quick points on the board. Troy called its first timeout to talk things over. The Trojans responded with a 2-1 run to go up 14-10.
With their backs against the wall, Georgia State used back-to-back kills by juniors Deidra Bohannon and Kitan Ajanaku to pull within two at 12-14. Troy called its second timeout, but it would be in vein as three-straight Trojan errors gave GSU a 15-14 advantage. This set up the game-winner for Georgia State as junior Natalia Nieto found fellow junior Brianna Jones who slammed home the final point to send the Panthers into the SBC Championship.
Bohannon spoke after the match about what was going on during the big runs in Sets 4 and 5. “We looked at each other and we told Molly to keep serving. We weren't going to let anything touch the floor. It was scary, but we looked at each other and said 'we can do this',” Bohannon said.
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
- Georgia State improves to 10-18 (8-11 SBC), doubling its conference-win total from a season ago.
- Jones finished with eight kills, a new career-high for the transfer. She also hit a team-high .538 on 13 attempts.
- Bohannon led Georgia State with 26 kills and 23 digs to earn her 13th double-double on the year. She is tied with Nieto, who had a double-double tonight as well (49 assists, 14 digs) for first on the team with 13 double-doubles.
- Shonk led the Panthers on defense with her 24 digs, a new career-best. Ajanaku and senior Andrea' Ezell each had three blocks as the Panthers posted seven total team blocks.
- Polhamus on making the conference tournament… “It's exciting. It speaks about how hard the players work and how much they've learned. We talked to them before Set 4 about getting better during that set. They did; they got better. That's how a team working to improve needs to be.”
- For everyone on the team except for the two seniors, Andrea Book and Andrea' Ezell, this will be the first time in a conference tournament. Bohannon said the team has talked about leaving a legacy at Georgia State. “It feels really good,” Bohannon said with a big smile.
The seeding for the SBC Championship will be determined tomorrow. South Alabama faces Troy and Georgia State will host Appalachian State in the GSU Sports Arena at 6 p.m. With a GSU win or a loss by USA, the Panthers clinch the seventh seed.
The Panthers will recognize the two seniors, Andrea Book and Andrea' Ezell, prior to the match on Saturday against Appalachian State at 6 p.m. The first 100 fans on Saturday will receive a GSU scarf as well.
