Sandy Panthers Close Successful 2023 Campaign

ATLANTA— With a No. 14 overall final national ranking and a 20-17 final mark to end the spring, head coach Beth Van Fleet and Georgia State beach volleyball wrap the 2023 season in a year that saw the Sandy Panthers secure the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Beach Volleyball Championship title and earn the program's fourth national tournament bid. The 20-17 finish for the spring marks the tenth consecutive winning season for GSU and seven consecutive seasons in which the Sandy Panthers have recorded 20 or more wins.

The year highlighted by the SBC Title and trip to the NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. would also see GSU receive numerous individual and team awards and accolades, including Sun Belt Conference Pair of the Year honors for first-flight pair Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary. The sisters notched a 19-13 record together for dual match competition in 2023, and were named to the AVCA All-America Second Team as well as the All-Sun Belt First Team for the spring after downing eight nationally ranked opponents over the course of the season.

Highlighting the duo's ranked victories were back-to-back wins over top pairs from No. 3 USC and No. 2 UCLA at the East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach, Calif. on April 1. The sisters' win at the top court facing the No. 3-ranked Trojans marked the only loss of the regular season for the first-flight duo of Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple, and one of only three losses for the entirety of the spring.

The Sandy Panthers' top-flight duo was also one of three pairs to earn a total of four Sun Belt Pair of the Week nods on the season. The Ferary sisters received the weekly accolade following an unbeaten 3-0 performance at the Gamecock Grand Slam that included a dual-clinching victory over host and No. 16 ranked South Carolina.

Fifth-year senior Maddy Delmonte and sophomore Ayla Johnson would also earn Sun Belt Pair of the Week honors in consecutive weeks to close the regular season. The duo notched back-to-back undefeated 4-0 marks for competition while defeating a total of six ranked foes at the Sandy Panthers' final home outing on April 7-8 and the Hawaii Invitational on April 15-16.

Delmonte and Johnson ended the 2023 season reeling off a team-high 12 consecutive victories at the fourth flight for GSU. The pair earned All-Sun Belt Second-Team honors for the spring after competing together for every outing and charting a 23-13 final record at the fourth and fifth flights.

Aliisa Vuorinen and Destiny White round out the team's list of Sun Belt Pair of the Week honorees in 2023, as the duo was the first to receive the award following a 3-1 finish at the Tampa Invitational on March 3-4. The pair teamed at the fifth flight to secure ranked wins over No. 6 Grand Canyon and No. 11 Stetson, while helping lead GSU to dual match victories over the No. 11-ranked Hatters as well as Florida Gulf Coast.

Vuorinen and White finished the season with an 18-8 mark and team-high .692% winning percentage at the fifth flight. The duo charted a 19-15 overall record for 2023 with eight victories over nationally ranked opponents.

Delmonte and fellow fifth-year teammate Kelly Dorn each wrapped competition at GSU reaching 80 career wins in 2023. Delmonte closes her career with the Sandy Panthers tied for second all-time in wins having recorded 90 total career victories— just two shy of the program-best 92 win mark set by Brooke Weiner in 2019.

Dorn finishes her five-year career with the Sandy Panthers charting 82 total career victories after posting a total of 16 wins alongside partner Elise Saga. The mark places Dorn at fourth all-time in wins for GSU.

A redshirt junior from Norway, Saga plans to return for a fifth season of competition with the team in 2024. Dorn and Saga's 16 wins in 2023 included five wins over nationally ranked foes, with four coming in straight sets.

A total of three Sandy Panthers would reach the 80 career-win mark in 2023, with Bella Ferary becoming the third player in 2023 to secure the feat after notching a first-flight victory alongside sister Angel in the SBC Title match. With Angel currently standing at 75 career victories at GSU, the All-America and All-Sun Belt First-Team duo prepares to enter a fourth season of competition at GSU in 2024 on pace to surpass the program's all-time mark for both individual and pair wins.

The Ferary sisters currently rank second all time in wins by a pair for the program's history.

Lila Bordis was named the Sun Belt's 2023 Newcomer of the Year following a 20-win season for the spring. The junior transfer from Arizona State entered competition with GSU in 2022-23 and teamed with Yasmin Kuck for every outing to post a 20-14 mark on the year.

Bordis and Kuck charted 10 victories at the second flight and 10 victories at the third flight while securing a total of six victories facing nationally ranked opponents. Rounding out the team's list of all-conference honorees for 2023, Bordis and Kuck received All-Sun Belt Second-Team honors for the spring.

Van Fleet was named the Sun Belt Conference's 2023 Coach of the Year after guiding GSU to 20 wins while facing 22 nationally ranked opponents over the course of the team's 37-dual match slate. GSU downed six nationally ranked opponents while maintaining a national ranking of top-15 or better for the extent of the spring.

The Sandy Panthers' head coach captured 200 total career victories following the team's 5-0 shutout over Arizona State on March 25. Van Fleet currently ranks fourth in NCAA wins among active beach coaches with 176.

GSU entered the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Beach Volleyball Championship ranked No. 14 in the nation and slotted as the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The SBC tournament saw the team post four consecutive shutouts in dual match play while earning wins in straight sets for all 14 flight-victories throughout the tournament's four-match slate.

Securing the SBC Championship crown with a 3-0 sweep facing Coastal Carolina, GSU earned the league's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. for a second consecutive season. The Sandy Panthers were selected as the No. 14 overall seed in the national tournament and were to face the No. 3-seeded, defending national champions Southern California.

GSU previously saw battle against No. 3 USC earlier in the year and fell in a 4-1 decision facing the Trojans. The rematch in the NCAA Round of 16 was to be contested on May 5, as the team prepared for its third trip to the NCAA National Championship and fourth national tournament berth overall (GSU made an appearance at the AVCA National Championships in 2015 prior to beach volleyball becoming officially recognized as an NCAA collegiate sport.)

The Sandy Panthers opened the Round of 16 matchup against the Trojans and saw tightly contested first sets at all five flights. Vuorinen and White would drop in a hard-fought battle at the fifth flight, and GSU fell behind 1-0 for the dual.

Bordis and Kuck secured a first-set victory at the second flight, while the Ferary sisters battled at the first flight in a rematch with Kraft and Maple of USC. Despite knocking off the Trojans' top pair earlier in the year, the Ferary duo would come up short in the second meeting with a narrow 21-18, 21-18 decision in Kraft and Maple's favor, and GSU fell behind 2-0 for the dual.

After dropping the first set of the matchup at the fourth flight, Delmonte and Johnson rallied back and charted a second-set victory to force a third set. Dorn and Saga played the third flight and fought to a 21-18, 21-18 final count in favor of USC, as GSU would ultimately fall in the Round of 16 matchup facing the Trojans, 3-0.

Delmonte and Johnson ended the match at the fourth flight unfinished, 14-21, 21-13, 4-1, up. Bordis and Kuck's matchup at the second flight ended with the pair leading up a set, 21-18, 14-17.

GSU closes the spring with a No. 14 overall final national ranking for 2023. The team's latest NCAA Tournament trip marks the fourth national tournament berth in the program's 11-year history.

With Van Fleet being named the Sun Belt's Coach of the Year for 2023, the Sandy Panthers' head coach has now received the award twice throughout her 10-year career at GSU. The team now touts five All-American selections and two conference pairs of the year for the program's history.

The Sandy Panthers will return for spring dual match competition in 2024. Follow Georgia State beach volleyball on social media (@GSUBeachVb) for continued news and updates throughout the team's offseason.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Maddy Delmonte: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#5 Kelly Dorn: 5' 9"; Sophomore

#4 Elise Saga: 5' 9"; Freshman

#1 Angel Ferary: 5' 4"; Junior

#6 Destiny White: 5' 11"; Sophomore

#8 Ayla Johnson: 5' 10"; Sophomore

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

#12 Bella Ferary: 5' 4"; Junior

#11 Lila Bordis: 5' 8"; Junior

#22 Aliisa Vuorinen: 5' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#14 Maddy Delmonte
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#5 Kelly Dorn
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

#4 Elise Saga
: 5' 9"; Freshman

#1 Angel Ferary
: 5' 4"; Junior

#6 Destiny White
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

#8 Ayla Johnson
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

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

#12 Bella Ferary
: 5' 4"; Junior

#11 Lila Bordis
: 5' 8"; Junior

#22 Aliisa Vuorinen
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore