Sandy Panthers Split Matches, Close Out Tournament Play in Jacksonville on Saturday

Jacksonville, Fla.— The Georgia State beach volleyball team closed out its weekend at the North Florida Invite in Jacksonville with a split in match play on Saturday. No. 11 GSU defeated No. 18 Pepperdine, 3-2, then followed up the win with a rematch facing No. 4 Florida State that saw the Panthers fall short of victory, 3-1.

After dropping a match to Conference USA opponent No. 10 FAU, the Panthers wrapped up play on Friday by defeating host North Florida in a 5-0 sweep.

GSU entered Saturday's scheduled competition with a matchup against No. 18 Pepperdine at 8 a.m. ET. The Panthers claimed victories in flights No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 as GSU secured its first-ever win facing the Waves.

Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary won on court No. 4 in straight sets, 21-13, 21-18, to give GSU its first point of the match. Chloee Kleespies and Becky Tresham accounted for the team's second point with a three set win, 21-14, 12-21, 15-9, in the fifth flight while No. 3 pair Kayla Whetstone and Yasmin Kuck saw victory, 22-20, 21-17, to clinch the match point in the Panthers' favor.

After a weather delay affected play and pushed match start times back, the team's second outing against No. 4 FSU would see a format change with flights No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 playing to clinch and the No. 2 flight serving as a tiebreaker.

Falling behind after a loss in the top flight, the Panthers evened the score with the Ferary duo's three set victory, 21-23, 21-12, 17-15, in the No. 4 flight. The win marks the pair's 15th ranked victory and 23rd win of the season as the sisters finish another weekend unbeaten at 4-0 and improve to 23-2 on the spring.

Court No. 5 saw another hard-fought three set battle for Tresham and Kleespies with the pair coming up just short of a win. Hawes and Delmonte would end the match on court No. 2 unfinished as the Panthers narrowly fell to the fourth ranked FSU.

With the 2-2 finish over the weekend, the Panthers move to 14-11 on the season with a 3-3 record in conference play.

GSU returns home to host the GSU Digging Duals at the GSU Beach Volleyball Complex next weekend. The team's slate of matches includes duals against Tampa and Austin Peay on Friday, April 8, followed by an outing facing Chattanooga and a rematch with conference foe UAB on Saturday, April 9.

Live stats and streaming will be available for the Panthers' home tournament. Admission will be free, and senior members of the team will be recognized in a special ceremony for Senior Day.

More information on the GSU Digging Duals will be posted on the web and to the team's social media accounts leading up to the tournament. Follow @GSUBeachVB on Twitter and Instagram for news and announcements throughout the week.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Becky Tresham: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#1 Angel Ferary: 5' 4"; Junior

#10 Yasmin Kuck: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#12 Bella Ferary: 5' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#24 Becky Tresham
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#1 Angel Ferary
: 5' 4"; Junior

#10 Yasmin Kuck
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#12 Bella Ferary
: 5' 4"; Junior