BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Georgia State (1-2) fell to UAB (2-1) in the Panthers' final match of the UAB/Samford Challenge on Saturday. The Panther volleyball team won the first set before dropping the final three to the Blazers. UAB won the fourth set 25-23 after Georgia State scored five of the last seven points.
Junior Eliza Zachary led the Panthers with 11 kills and five blocks. Senior Andrea Book added seven kills of her own while freshman Sydney Mauer and junior Natalia Nieto combined for 38 assists.
“We're leaving this tournament a better team than when we came in,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “It really comes down to playing every point with high energy while still executing our system.”
UAB started off strong and jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the first set. The Panthers rallied after a Polhamus timeout and took a 15-11 lead after scoring seven-straight points. UAB would continue to put pressure on the Panthers, pulling within two multiple times. GSU extended its lead to 21-18 and the Blazers called a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Panthers made it a 24-20 contest before the Blazers made a run to cut the lead to 24-23. After tying the set at 24, the Blazers dropped the first set on a service error followed by a service ace by junior Natalia Nieto. Book led all players with four kills in the first set on .600 hitting. Zachary led the Panthers with three blocks and Mauer totaled seven assists.
The two teams continued to trade points to begin the second set. UAB would pull away using a 5-1 run to lead 9-6 before Polhamus called a timeout. Book and junior Deidra Bohannon kept GSU within striking distance and the Panthers pulled within a couple points several times. The Blazers had an answer for each run and took the second set 25-18.
The Blazers got off to a hot start in the third set. Five-straight UAB points put the team in green on top 7-2 to force a GSU timeout. The Panthers came back and scored five-straight points of their own to take a 13-12 lead. The Blazers responded with another run to retake a lead and push it to 20-15. UAB won the set and took a 2-1 advantage in the match using a 9-2 run.
A five-point run by the Blazers gave them a 9-6 advantage in the fourth set after Georgia State took an early lead. The set continued to go UAB's way. Four-straight attack errors by Georgia State helped push the Blazers' lead to 14-6. Georgia State stayed resilient and made a final push to pull within one before the Blazers took the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
UP NEXT…
Georgia State will play its first home match of the season on Wednesday, Sept. 3 when the Panthers host Western Carolina in the GSU Sports Arena at 6 p.m. ET.
