NORFOLK, Va. — After dropping the first set of Saturday's match at Old Dominion, the Panthers bounced back in a big way, winning three straight sets to split the weekend series with the Monarchs and improve to 11-8 on the season.
Akira Burt (15 kills),
Manuela Altieri Liev (12 kills), and
Maria Cecilia de Pinho (10 kills) led the way for the Panthers offensively.
Marta Lazzarin paced the Georgia State defense with 16 digs, followed closely by
Nazli Guvener who recorded 15 digs in addition to a pair of service aces and five kills for an all-around performance.
How It Happened
Set 1 | The Panthers lead grew as large as five points in the opening set, but the Monarchs were relentless in their comeback. The Panthers led 21-19, but would not score again as Old Dominion scored six straight to take the set. The Monarchs outhit Georgia State .212% to .057%, the only set in which they would do so.
Set 2 | Georgia State jumped out to an impressive 9-1 lead to open the second set and did not give the hosts a chance to come back. de Pinho's fourth kill of the set capped off the 25-13 win for the Panthers, the largest margin of victory of the weekend.
Set 3 | The third set was a back-and-forth affair that saw both sides hold and lose the lead multiple times. Sitting at 24 points, the Panthers dropped a pair of set points, and nearly saw the set extended, before Burt closed the door with her fourth kill of the third.
Set 4 | Every previous meeting between the Panthers and Monarchs had gone a full five sets, and it looked like Saturday's match might follow suit. Old Dominion took a 16-11 lead in the fourth, but a 7-2 run from the Panthers knotted the set at 18 a side. Georgia State took advantage of a slew of Old Dominion attack errors to earn set point, but the Monarchs continued to battle, extending the set. In the extra time, it was a pair of kills from Burt that secured the third set win for the visiting Panthers.
Game Notes
- Shanelle Martinez accounted for over half of the Panthers' assists, racking up 26 on the day
- The Panthers committed fewer errors than the Monarchs in each of the last three sets
- de Pinho recorded a .368 hitting percentage
- Georgia State finished with a 48-43 advantage in kills
Up Next
The Panthers will return to their home court for a weekend series with visiting Marshall on October 24th and 25th. Match one will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, and match two will start at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
