Location: Mobile, Ala.
Match 1: Mississippi State @ 3 p.m.
Match 2: Rice @ 3 p.m.
Match 3: South Alabama @ 4 p.m.
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ATLANTA – Georgia State volleyball opens the 2026 season under first-year head coach Jorge Martinez as the Panthers travel to Mobile, Ala., for the Jaguar Classic. Georgia State opens the weekend Friday against Mississippi State, returns to action Saturday against Rice and closes out the weekend Sunday against host South Alabama.
SERIES HISTORY
Georgia State holds a 4-4 series record with Mississippi State. The two programs first met on November 18, 1976, with the Panthers falling 0-2. Georgia State picked up its first series win on October 14, 1978, taking a neutral-site match 2-1. The Panthers most recent meeting against the Bulldogs happened on August 25, 2018, when Georgia State won 3-1 on the road.
This will mark the first meeting between Georgia State and Rice.
Georgia State holds a 9-15 series record with South Alabama. The two programs first met on September 11, 1992, with the Panthers winning 3-2 at a neutral site. South Alabama has had the upper hand for much of the series since, winning many of the meetings across the 2010s. The Panthers' most recent meeting against the Jaguars happened on November 19, 2021, when Georgia State fell 0-3 at a neutral site.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Mississippi State enters 2026 under ninth-year head coach Julie Darty Dennis, coming off a 16-10 (6-9 SEC) season that ended with a first-round SEC Tournament loss to Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs' top returner is sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Mangelson, named to the SEC's 2026 Preseason All-SEC Team, one of just three underclassmen selected. Mangelson broke out as a freshman in 2025, ranking second nationally among freshmen and sixth in the SEC with 4.35 kills per set. She totaled 387 kills, which was third-most by a Bulldog freshman. She earned All-SEC Second Team, All-Freshman Team, and AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention honors. Darty Dennis also added six newcomers to the 2026 roster.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Rice enters 2026 under 23rd-year head coach Jenny Volpe, coming off a 21-10 (15-1 American) season as regular-season conference champions. The Owls' only conference loss came against Temple (9/26), after which they reeled off a 17-match winning streak before falling to Tulsa in the American Championship final. Rice earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid but fell to Florida in the first round. The American picked Rice to win the conference for a third straight season, giving the Owls all 12 first-place votes and 144 points, edging out Tulsa (120). Three Owls landed on the Preseason All-Conference Team. The roster adds eight newcomers, including three from Power Four programs, with an even eight-upperclassmen, eight-underclassmen split.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
South Alabama enters 2026 under sixth-year head coach Jesse Ortiz, coming off a 15-14 (9-7 SBC) season that ended with a loss to James Madison in the Sun Belt Championship semifinals. The Sun Belt picked South Alabama to finish second in the West Division behind Arkansas State, giving the Jaguars 79 points and one first-place vote. Sophomore Cambria Gaier headlines the roster after being named to the Sun Belt's Preseason All-Conference Team. Gaier burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2025, earning SBC Freshman of the Year honors and a second-team all-league selection. She's just the third player in South Alabama's program history to win Freshman of the Year.
MARTINEZ AT THE HELM
Jorge Martinez joined the Georgia State staff as the head coach of the court volleyball program in February 2026. Martinez comes to GSU after six seasons at Arkansas Little Rock, where he served four years as an assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach in his final two seasons with the Trojans.
NEW TO THE A
Georgia State welcomes 14 newcomers to the roster for 2026, including eight freshmen and six transfers. Freshmen Milana Holland, Sydney Crowder, Madilyn Lenox, Sigrun Jonsdottir, Jayden Fitzgerald, Annelore Engels, Sophia Johnson and Julie Arias bring youth and potential, while transfers Reagan Elizondo (South Carolina), Dariana Valencia (Little Rock), Leilani-Kai Giusta (Quinnipiac), Charley Goberville (Cornell), Mina Olgar (UC San Diego) and Isabel Morales (Little Rock) add collegiate experience and depth to the Panthers' lineup.
FRESHMEN FRENZY
Georgia State features one of the largest freshman classes in the Sun Belt for the 2026 season, tying ULM with eight freshman. Milana Holland, Sydney Crowder, Madilyn Lenox, Sigrun Jonsdottir, Jayden Fitzgerald, Annelore Engels, Sophia Johnson and Julie Arias make up the Panther's freshman class.
SO INTERNATIONAL
Georgia State's volleyball roster boasts with international flair. Nearly half of the 2026 squad hails from overseas, with five of the 17 players bringing valuable international experience to the court.
