ATLANTA- The Sandy Panthers will return to the courts this weekend, kicking off the 2021 campaign Saturday at the Seminole Beach Bash in Tallahassee, Fla. GSU enters the season ranked No. 18 in the AVCA Preseason Poll, marking the seventh top-20 preseason ranking for the squad.
Opening day will serve as a prime opportunity to make an early splash in the rankings as Georgia State is slated to play No. 8 Loyola Marymount at 8:00 a.m. before battling No. 6 Cal Poly in the afternoon tilt. Georgia State will conclude the weekend Sunday with meetings against Tampa at 1:00 p.m. directly followed by a contest against CCSA opponent, Southern Miss.
The squad returns 13 veterans from last year's 11-3 team. After having a shortened season in 2020, the Sandy Panthers are eager to return to the sand. The team is led by five seniors, Bekah Brodbeck, Eden Hawes, Mattie Johnson, Meagan McCall, and Kaylee McClure.
In addition to the depth of experience, GSU welcomes an outstanding class of freshmen to downtown Atlanta. Georgia natives, Angel and Bella Ferary, join the team after both being named First Team AVCA Beach High School All-Americans in 2020. Additionally, Peyton Crenwelge earned a spot on Volleyball Mag's Fab-30 List before beginning her rookie campaign in blue and white.
Georgia State is led by head coach Beth Van Fleet, who is entering her eighth season at the program's helm. Van Fleet will look to improve upon her impressive 138-59 as the program' s head coach during the 2021 campaign. Van Fleet is joined by former Sandy Panther, Tiffany Creamer, who will serve in her first season as the assistant coach.
All Georgia State beach volleyball events are streamed live on Periscope via our Twitter page. Live stats for all four duals this weekend will be available via the link on our schedule page.
Weekend Schedule (All times are ET):
Saturday-
GSU vs. LMU- 8:00 a.m.
GSU vs. Cal Poly- 1:15 p.m.
Sunday-
GSU vs. Tampa- 1:15 p.m.
GSU vs. Southern Miss- 3:00 p.m.
For more news and updates follow @GSUBeachVB on Instagram and Twitter
