HATTIESBURG, Miss. — The Georgia State volleyball team (7-11, 1-5 SBC) fell to Southern Miss (12-5, 3-3 SBC) 3-1 on Friday afternoon at the Southern Miss Wellness Center.
Akira Burt paced the Panthers with a team-high 19 kills, including 11 in the first set. Mina Olgar added 10 kills on a team-high .471 hitting percentage and served two aces. Three Panthers reached double figures in digs. Annelore Engels led with 18, Dariana Valencia with 14 and Sophia Johnson with 12. Jayden Eaker controlled the front row with six blocks, and Georgia State out-blocked the Lady Eagles, 11-7.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Southern Miss won a back-and-forth opener, 28-26, in a set with 17 ties and six lead changes. Georgia State led by as many as three points and held set point several times, but the Lady Eagles scored the final three points to take the set. Burt had 11 kills on .455 hitting in the set.
SET 2 | Georgia State answered with a 25-20 win to even the match at 1-1. The Panthers trailed by as many as three early, but the set was tied at 16-16 before they took the lead for good at 17-16. They finished on a 9-4 run, hitting .256 in the set to Southern Miss' .106. Manuela Altieri Liev recorded the final kill.
SET 3 | The Lady Eagles took a 2-1 lead with a 25-18 win. Southern Miss took the lead for good at 6-5 and led by as many as eight, at 20-12. Georgia State hit .061 in the set with six errors, while Southern Miss hit .361.
SET 4 | Southern Miss closed out the match with a 25-20 win in a set that was tied six times. Two Olgar aces gave Georgia State a 13-10 lead, but the Lady Eagles answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead for good at 14-13 and went up by as many as seven, at 22-15. The Panthers hit .029 in the set.
Game Notes
» Georgia State had three players in double figures in digs.
» Akira Burt had a team-high 19 kills.
» Mina Olgar hit a team-high .471 and had a team-high two aces.
» Annelore Engels had a team-high 36 assists and 18 digs.
» Jayden Eaker had a team-high six blocks (two solo, four assists).
» Georgia State out-blocked Southern Miss, 11-7.
Up Next
The Panthers return home to face Old Dominion in a two-match weekend series at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Ga. The first match is Friday, Oct. 16, at 6 p.m. for Pink Out, with the finale Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. for Greek Night.
