What you need to know:
* On Saturday night, Georgia State went the full distance of five sets for the second consecutive night. This time the Panthers came away with the win over the UT Arlington Mavericks by a final of 25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-13.
* GSU improves to 5-5 in the Sun Belt and 9-12 overall. The Panthers still secure the third place spot in the East Division. UT Arlington falls to 11-14 overall and 5-5 in the SBC.
* Kristina Stinson, Eliza Zachary and Crystal Lee propelled the Panther attack with 15 kills each. Setter Sarah Renner added 53 assists and Celeste Friesen totaled 33 digs in a strong defensive performance. Georgia State returns to the Sports Arena next weekend with matches against Little Rock and Arkansas State. The matches are Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m.
ATLANTA – Georgia State rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take down UT Arlington and improve to .500 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers took the match by a final of 25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-13.
Head coach Sally Polhamus and GSU improve to 5-5 in the SBC and 9-12 overall, while UTA falls to 5-5 and 11-14.
Despite falling behind two sets to one after a dropping the third frame 25-23, the Panthers battled back to take the match in five sets. A service ace from Crystal Lee and kills from Lee and Kristina Stinson brought GSU back to tie the match 2-2.
In the fifth and deciding set, UTA jumped out to a 7-1 lead before Georgia State rallied again to tie it at 10 on a Maverick attacking error. Shae Chapman's third kill on Sarah Renner's 53rd assist sealed the victory for the Panthers.
Stinson, Lee and Eliza Zachary carried GSU's offensive attack with 15 kills each. The three accounted for nearly two thirds of the team's kills. The Panthers tripled the Mavericks' ace count with 12 service aces to UTA's four.
Sally Polhamus spoke highly of the entire team's will to battle until the end for the second night in a row. Freshman Celeste Friesen rose to the occasion defensively compiling 33 digs on the night. Anna Rantala contributed another 15 digs as well as 11 kills.
Under head coach Diane Seymour, the Mavericks made the Panthers work for every point behind Qiana Canete, Zhanelle Geathers, and Kaitlyn Granger's strong attacking play. The three combined for 37 kills as Cassidy Wheeler added 46 assists. Taylor Murata and Canete connected on 22 and 20 digs, respectively.
The Panthers will look to get to above .500 in conference play for the first time all season next weekend in their matches again Little Rock and Arkansas State.
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