ATLANTA - Meisheia Griffin passed Ana Paula Ferreira for first on the GSU all-time career block assists list Thursday night as the Panthers fell to rival Georgia Southern, 2-3 (25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 18-25, 15-17) at GSU Sports Arena.

Georgia State falls to 3-12, 0-5 Sun Belt while Georgia Southern improves to 11-4, 4-1 Sun Belt. 

Thursday marked the third consecutive match that the Panthers dropped, 2-3. 

Griffin and Isabelle Percoco continued their stellar defensive play as the front row duo combined for 15 blocks to lead the Panthers. 

Offensively, the Panthers were led by Griffin, Erin Wyatt and Julianna Truscott as the trio combined for 33 kills. Wyatt notched a double-double as she totaled 13 kills and 17 digs.  

Set one was tightly contested as the set consisted of 16 tied scores and nine lead changes. The Panthers displayed a balanced offensive attack as four players registered three or more kills. Truscott and Laura Ehieze combined for six kills, as both players hit .600. Georgia State went on to win the set, 25-22. 

The back-and-forth nature of set one carried over into set two; however, Georgia Southern came out victorious. The set was tied 23-23, but the Eagles scored consecutive points to win the set, 25-23. 

Georgia State came out aggressive in set three and jumped out to a 15-10 lead. Georgia Southern attempted to respond but the Panthers put together an ensuing 10-5 run to win the set, 25-15. The Panthers were led by Wyatt who tallied four kills while hitting .375.

Set four was tightly contested as the two teams played to a 16-16 ledger. The Eagles then went on a 9-2 run to win the set and force set five. Georgia State had no answer for Baylor Bumford of Georgia Southern in set four as she logged six kills while hitting .750. 

For the third consecutive match, Georgia State attempted to notch a set five victory. Georgia Southern jumped out to an early 7-4 lead to open the set, but the Panthers responded with a 7-0 run to take an 11-7 lead late in the set. 

After several minutes of back-and-forth action, the Panthers found themselves up 14-11 and needing one point to win the match. With their backs against the wall, the Eagles then went on a 6-1 run and notched the set five victory to win the match.

Georgia State will look to bounce back when it hits the road to Statesboro, Ga., Saturday for another match against Georgia Southern.

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