BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Georgia State volleyball kicked off the 2014 regular season at the UAB/Samford Challenge on Friday at the Pete Hanna Center on Samford's campus. The Panthers defeated Jacksonville State 3-1 after dropping their first match 3-0 to Samford.

Head coach Sally Polhamus picked up her first win at Georgia State (1-1) as junior Deidra Bohannon led the Panthers in scoring against Jacksonville State (0-1) with 22 kills. Junior Eliza Zachary added 8 kills on .429 hitting.

“It was a good test for us. They kept battling and we kept fighting back. In the end, we dug deep and found a way to win,” junior Natalia Nieto said who ended up with 27 assists.

Jacksonville State and Georgia State battled back and forth for the majority of the match. In the first set, the Panthers scored four straight points to go on top 19-16 and never turned back, winning the set 25-21.

The Gamecocks raced out to a 6-1 lead to start the second set. Georgia State dug in their heels and rallied back to tie it at six. After trading points, the Panthers put together a five-point run to clinch the second set 25-19 and go up 2-0 in the match.

The third set was once again a tight battle and both squads traded blows. Jacksonville State was able to hold off all the Panther attempts at a rally and took the set 25-20.

Georgia State led for much of the fourth set. The Gamecocks pulled within one, but back-to-back kills by sophomore Kristina Stinson put the Panthers up 13-8. Georgia State extended their lead to six before JSU once again cut the lead to one. The Panthers held off the rally and another Bohannon kill helped collect their first win of the season.

GSU VS. SAMFORD…

Georgia State faced host Samford in the first match of the day. The Bulldogs were picked to finish first in the Southern Conference and feature two preseason all-conference first-teamers in OH Michaela Reesor and LIB Chelsi Carter. The Panthers scored the first three points of the season, but fell behind when the Bulldogs scored six straight points. The Panthers would retake the lead 7-6, but the Bulldogs proved to be too much and won the first set 25-13. 

The Panthers struggled to get anything going and fell behind 2-0 in the match after losing the second set 25-12. After the intermission, Georgia State came out with high energy and made a strong run at the Bulldogs. Georgia State led 20-19 before the Bulldogs put away the set and the match, 3-0.

“Samford is a well-coached team with veteran experience.  It was good to finally see someone else across the net that tested us from all aspects of the game. The positive from our opening match was the resiliency we showed in the last set working to take that momentum forward,” Polhamus said.

NOTING THE PANTHERS…

• Two Panthers made their debuts as junior Brianna Jones, who transferred from Pfeiffer, and freshman Sydney Mauer both saw action on the court on Friday.
• It was the debut for Sally Polhamus at Georgia State as well. The former Florida assistant coach and Winthrop head coach returned to Atlanta take over the Panther volleyball program in Dec. 2013. Polhamus coached at Georgia Tech from 2002-06 in an assistant position.
• Georgia State used a variety of weapons on offense against JSU. Ajanaku, Zachary, Patterson, Stinson and Bohannon all had five or more kills.

UP NEXT…

Georgia State will play its third and final game in the tournament on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET against UAB at the Pete Hanna Center on Samford's campus. UAB is coming off of a 21-14 season and is 1-0 on the season. UAB hosts Michigan State Friday night at 8 ET.