What you need to know:
* Georgia State defeated William & Mary 3-0 in another dominant performance to improve to 3-1 on the 2016 volleyball season. The Panthers took the match 25-23, 25-17 and 25-20. In the second match, the Panthers lost to the Bears of Mercer in straight sets of 25-22, 22-19, and 22-19.
* The win got the Panthers off to a great start in the Bruiser Showcase in Nashville, Tenn. Sarah Renner, Katelyn Rawls, Kristina Stinson, Celeste Friesen and Eliza Zachary starred in the first match of the Friday doubleheader. Crystal Lee and Kristina Stinson led the GSU attack against Mercer.
* Georgia State will look to bounce back in the tournament finale of the Showcase at 3:00 p.m. against the Belmont Bruins.
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Georgia State dominated again in its fourth match of the season with a 3-0 sweep of William and Mary on Friday. Kristina Stinson, Eliza Zachary and Anna Rantala led the way for the Panthers. The three combined for 27 kills and 27 digs against the Tribe in a solid team performance across the board. In the afternoon cap, the Panthers lost in a competitive match 3-0 against the Mercer Bear. Crystal Lee and Kristina Stinson led the attacking charge in the second match.
Match 1: GSU 3, William & Mary 0
Georgia State went back and forth with William and Mary in the opening frame. The Panthers and Tribe exchanged several runs to close it out. GSU used a 6-0 run to make it 19-16 Panthers and the Tribe went on a 6-1 run of its own to tie things up at 23. Katie Creger's second kill gave Georgia State a 24-23 lead. An attacking error gave GSU the first set with Eliza Zachary and Crystal Lee combining for seven kills.
Back-to-back kills from Kristina Stinson and Zachary gave the Panthers an 11-4 advantage in the second frame. A Morgan Hash kill from Sarah Renner doubled up the Tribe at 12-6. Through two sets, Anna Rantala led the Panthers with 13 digs. GSU used 17 kills in the second to go up 2-0 in the match at 25-17.
Georgia State called timeout after the Tribe's Alex Stein connected for her seventh kill of the match. The Panthers still controlled the third set, leading 14-7 before the break in the action. William and Mary hung around and cut GSU's lead to 23-19 after a Panther service error. Head coach Sally Polhamus called time and the team responded well, with Rantala, Stinson and Creger's kills finishing off the Tribe for a straight set victory.
Coach Polhamus was pleased with the effort level her team showed throughout the entire match.
"This morning we showed great team effort! With the depth of our bench and our serve receive consistency we were able to have a balanced attack,” Polhamus said.”
Celeste Friesen and Rantala set the tone defensively with 17 and 21 digs, respectively. As a team, Georgia State had 46 kills to William & Mary's 32 and five less attacking errors than a Tribe team that defeated ACC opponent Clemson in its opening match of the season. Katie Creger came up huge for the Panthers in key situations, registering a kill to make it set point in the opening frame as well as earning the final point of the match with her sixth kill.
Georgia State will look to keep the ball rolling in its match versus Mercer at 4:30 p.m., a school GSU is 34-9 against in its program's history.
Match 2: Mercer 3, GSU 0
In the afternoon cap of the doubleheader, Georgia State started off strong against Mercer to open the match. Kristina Stinson connected for her third kill to bring the Panthers within two points at 24-22. From there, the Bears squeaked out an opening set victory at 25-22 on a GSU handling error.
In the second and third frames, the Panthers were unable to limit attacking errors and lost back-to-back games of 25-19 to fall to 3-2 on the young season. Among the bright spots for GSU included Crystal Lee, who led her team with a match-high 14 kills. Stinson added 10 kills to her season total and Sarah Renner had another impressive setting performance with 36 assists.
Celeste Friesen and Anna Rantala combined for 27 digs on the match, once again setting the tempo of set and receive. After splitting the tournament-opening doubleheader for the second straight weekend, Georgia State will look to build on the positives from its performances and learn from its mistakes.
The Panthers will attempt to finish the Bruiser Showcase strong tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. against the host Belmont Bruins, who defeated Mercer 3-2 and William & Mary 3-0 earlier today.
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