What you need to know:
* No. 7-seed Georgia State (26-10, 6-4 CCSA) was eliminated from the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Friday after losses to No. 2-seed Southern California and No. 6-seed Arizona.
* The Panthers came within just a few points of beating the Wildcats, but lost in three sets on two courts.
* GSU will fight for a third straight national championship appearance next season.
GULF SHORES, Ala. – Seventh-seeded Georgia State lost twice on Friday and was eliminated from the 2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. GSU lost to No. 2 Southern California in the first round and to No. 6 Arizona in the elimination round.
“The NCAA has done a fantastic job of putting on this tournament,” head coach Beth Van Fleet said. “As far as our play, I'm really proud of our team for the fight and competitiveness they showed today. That last flight against Arizona could have gone either way and we have to give credit to Arizona for playing as well as they did. I'm looking forward to getting back here next year.”
Making its second national championships appearance in a row, Georgia State showed how far the team has come since making it to the tournament last season, which was hosted by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Eight of GSU's 10 starters today competed in the tournament last season.
The seventh-seed Panthers were pitted against the defending champions, No. 2-seed USC. The Women of Troy defeated GSU 4-1 in the regular season, but GSU was ready to put up a fight. USC claimed the first points on Court 5 and Court 1 with straight-set wins. When Court 3 went to the Trojans, the Panthers held leads on both of the two remaining courts, but play was ended once the contest was clinched. Kate Rawls had 10 kills on 17 attempts on Court 2 as the Panthers were up 19-17 in the second set when the match was called. On Court 3, Natalie Wilson and Brooke Weiner were preparing to start a third set. Wilson finished with 16 kills and just one error.
In the elimination match, Georgia State met another familiar opponent in sixth-seeded Arizona. The Wildcats edged the Panthers 3-2 in the regular season. Once again, the Panthers made a name for themselves, quickly taking a 2-1 lead over the Wildcats prompting the NCAA to put out an upset alert on social media. Milani Pickering and Delaney Rohan started the scoring with an impressive 23-21, 21-18 win on Court 3. By this time, truTV had picked up the broadcast and people across the country watched live as the beach volleyball team represented Georgia State.
Arizona tied it up at 1-1 with a Court 1 win, but Alexis Townsend and Chloe Cook rallied from a Set 1 loss to win 16-21, 22-20, 15-12 on Court 5. Townsend finished with 23 kills and Cook added 15 in the win. Arizona won a third set on Court 2 to make Court 4 the deciding court. Weiner and Wilson had fallen in Set 1, but rallied to win Set 2. The duo battled in Set 3, but ultimately lost 15-12. The pair combined for five aces in the contest.
The tournament continues through Sunday when the first ever NCAA Beach Volleyball Champion will be crowned.
Follow along with Georgia State on Twitter (@GSUBeachVB) for the latest news.
