What you need to know:
> Georgia State falls 3-0 to Little Rock in the first of two contests in Sun Belt Tournament pool play.
> Jordan Shoemaker dished out six assists early in the first set to surpass the 1000 assists mark in her two seasons at Georgia State.
> The Panthers will look to rebound with a contest against Louisiana to conclude pool play on Friday.
FOLEY, Ala. - Little Rock defeated Georgia State (26-24, 25-18, 25-18) Thursday afternoon in the first of two pool play matches at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The loss ends a four-game winning streak by the Panthers, the longest winning-streak by the program since 2013.
Senior Jordan Shoemaker dished out 24 assists throughout the match, which propels her past the impressive 1000 assists mark during her two-year Georgia State career. Shoemaker found success connecting with Leah Wilcox and Erin Wyatt. Wilcox registered a .409 hitting percentage, finding nine kills. Wyatt found ten kills to add to the offensive production.
On defense Ava Vlkovic
and Ryan Spicer-Gordon shared the work as they both accumulated 11 digs.
Due to the division-only contests during the regular season, this match marked the first meeting between the Panthers and Trojans of 2020. During the first set both programs struggled to go on substantial scoring runs due to the strong defensive efforts and clean play on both sides of the net. With the first set up for grabs, Little Rock capitalized on late GSU errors to take the first set 26-24.
The Trojans continued this late momentum into the second set. The Panthers could not find answers as Little Rock's setter spread the Trojan offense. Little Rock found holes both short and deep in GSU territory to keep the Panthers on their toes and out of system. The Trojans would record an impressive .391 hitting percentage as they took the two-point lead behind a 25-18 second set performance .
Little Rock jumped to an eight-point lead midway through the third. With the match on the line, Georgia State found ways to close marathon rallies to keep play alive. The Panthers utilized different rotations to disrupt Little Rock's offensive production. The efforts fell short as Little Rock closed the match with another 25-18 set victory.
Tomorrow, the Panthers return to action for the final match of Sun Belt Tournament pool play at 1:00 p.m. in Foley, Ala. Georgia State will face Louisiana, who fell to Little Rock Wednesday afternoon.
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