What you need to know:

* Georgia State (4-7, 0-1 SBC) lost 25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-17 to Texas State Friday to kick off conference play.

* The Panthers head to Arlington to play UT Arlington at 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday.

* GSU is back at home to host Texas State Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. in the GSU Sports Arena.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Playing its first conference match of the season, Georgia State's volleyball team fell in four sets at Texas State Friday night at Straham Coliseum in San Marcos, Texas. GSU falls to 4-7 on the year and 0-1 in the Sun Belt.

Led by Kristina Stinson and Kitan Ajanaku, the Panthers battled with Texas State and the rowdy Bobcat crowd. Stinson finished with 19 kills on .310 hitting while Ajanaku added 5 blocks to go along with 10 kills on .421 hitting. Natalia Nieto earned 39 assists while Gabby Serafin recorded 22 digs.

Texas State took a 2-0 lead, winning 25-20 in Set 1 and 25-18 in Set 2. The Bobcats hit .367 in the first set and took advantage of some GSU errors in the second. Georgia State came out of intermission and played a strong third set.

Down 0-2 and needing a win, GSU held TXST to .121 hitting in Set 3 and ran the offense through middle blocker Kitan Ajanaku, who tallied five kills on .833 hitting. Kristina Stinson, who had been the offensive go-to in the first two sets, came up big on defense in Set 3 with two solo blocks. Stinson's 16th kill of the match capped off a 5-0 run to quiet the crowd with a 25-20 GSU win.

Texas State responded in Set 4 with a with a match-clinching 25-17 victory. The Bobcats jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never turned back. Texas State hit .263 in the final frame.

UT Arlington claimed both regular-season meetings with the Panthers last season. The Mavericks are 9-3 entering the weekend and will host UL Lafayette on Friday before the Panthers come to town for a 7:30 p.m. meeting on Saturday.

Georgia State returns home to host Texas State on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. at the GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers play just one home match in the first six Sun Belt contests of the season. GSU then plays six of the final eight at home to close out the conference slate.