What you need to know:
* Georgia State lost 3-1 to DePaul Saturday as the Blue Demons finished with a 3-0 record at the GSU Invitational.
* Kitan Ajanaku was named all-tournament for her solid play all weekend. Natalia Nieto surpassed 3,000 assists, becoming just the third Panther all-time to do so.
* The Panthers start Sun Belt play Friday at Texas State and Saturday at UT Arlington.
ATLANTA – Georgia State wrapped up its volleyball non-conference schedule this weekend, hosting the GSU Invite at the GSU Sports Arena. After splitting a pair of matches Friday, the Panthers fell 3-1 to tournament-champion DePaul Saturday afternoon.
Georgia State held a lead in Set 1, but the Blue Demons rallied to win 26-24. GSU repaid DePaul in the second set, winning by the same score. The Panthers hit .361 in Set 2 and held DePaul to a .129 hit percentage. The Blue Demons shutdown the Georgia State offense in Set 3 (25-15) and 4 (25-19) to win the match 3-1 and take home the tournament title.
Three Panthers earned double-digit kills in the loss with Deidra Bohannon leading the way with 17. Freshman Crystal Lee added 10 kills and hit .208 with four blocks. Ajanaku tallied a team-high six blocks and Gabby Serafin recorded 19 digs. Natalia Nieto reached a statistical milestone Saturday with 41 assists, becoming just the third Panther all-time to reach the 3,000-assist mark. The senior now has 3,027 for her career.
Ajanaku played well all weekend, earning her a spot on the all-tournament team. The redshirt senior hit .400 with 32 kills and 10 blocks.
GSU Invite All-Tournament Team
- Randi Leath – DePaul (MVP)
- Caitlyn Coffey – DePaul
- Brittany Maxwell – DePaul
- Megan Short – Radford
- Maddie Palmer – Radford
- Alleeyah Hensley – Grambling State
- Kitan Ajanaku – Georgia State
Georgia State begins conference play next weekend as the Panthers travel to the Lone Star State and will play Texas State Friday and UT Arlington Saturday. GSU is home again on September 24 against Texas State at the GSU Sports Arena.
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