What you need to know:
* GSU's volleyball team dropped a nailbiter Friday to Western Carolina in the season-opener.
* The Panthers lost 24-26, 25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 17-15.
* Middle blockers Eliza Zachary and Kitan Ajanaku combined for 40 kills while Natalia Nieto recorded a career-high 65 assists.
ATLANTA – Down 14-10 and facing match point in Set 5, Georgia State's volleyball team rallied to tie it up at 14-all, but Western Carolina would go on to win the season opener 24-26, 25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 17-15 in Cullowhee, N.C. Friday night.
“It was a hard fought match against a well-coached team in Western Carolina,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “They didn't let anything hit the floor.”
Georgia State and Western Carolina traded blows in Set 1, but it was two of GSU's six seniors that took charge in the first frame. Kitan Ajanaku hit .818 while recording nine kills to power the Panthers to a 26-24 win. Eliza Zachary added six kills on 10 attempts to support the GSU offense. As a team, GSU hit .292 in Set 1.
Georgia State never trailed in Set 2 until the Catamounts unleashed an 8-2 run to win the set 25-21. WCU came out of the break on fire, racing to a 9-2 lead in Set 3. GSU strung five points together to make it 9-7, but WCU pulled away. The Panthers managed to pull even at 17-17, but the Catamounts would go on to claim the set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead.
Georgia State's offense returned to impressive form in Set 4 as the team hit .462. GSU took the lead early with a 7-2 run and held on to win 25-17. Zachary and Ajanaku once again provided the offensive power with eight kills combined. Freshman Crystal Lee also came up with four kills to go along with her five digs on defense.
Western Carolina took an 8-5 lead in the fifth set. GSU battled to within two twice before WCU got match point at 14-10. Georgia State then strung together four points to make things interesting. After another tie at 15-15, the Catamounts finally put away the Panthers with a 17-15 final.
“Coming back from a 14-10 deficit in the fifth shows discipline,” Polhamus said. “Now we need to play that way the whole set. It's about limiting our unforced errors and taking care of the ball.”
Ajanaku set new career-highs for both kills (18) and hitting percentage (.552) while fellow senior Natalia Nieto bumped her new single-match high to 65 assists. Zachary tied her career-high in kills with 22.
The Panthers continue with the Catamount Volleyball Classic on Saturday with a pair of matches. GSU takes on Fresno State at 11 a.m. and Murray State at 4:30 p.m. Both matches will be livestreamed on the SOCON Digital Network.
Georgia State plays on the road the first two weekends before hosting Kennesaw State in the home opener on Sept. 8 at the GSU Sports Arena.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GeorgiaStateVB) for the latest news.
