The final match of a long road trip for Georgia State volleyball ended with the team losing to the South Alabama Jaguars in straight sets. The team is now 1-2 in conference play and 3-9 in the season, which places them at eighth place in the Sun Belt.
Set One
The Jaguars scored the first three points and would extend their lead to 7-1. At this point, South Alabama offensive hitter Mechell Daniel had a kill and an assist. Panthers head coach Sally Polhamus called a timeout which temporarily halted the Jaguars’ momentum. They got back into the match by cutting the deficit to five at 12-7.
A kill from junior Eliza Zachary made the score 16-13, prompting a timeout from South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky. Georgia State’s momentum was then stopped as the Jaguars would extend their lead back out to six at 22-16. They would go on to win set number one at 25-18. Sophomore offensive hitter Jessica Lewis led the Jaguar attack with five kills. Zachary had the same number for Georgia State at this point.
Set Two
The Jaguars picked up where they left off in the second frame with a 5-3 advantage. The Panthers cut their deficit to one at 5-4, but a 3-0 run by South Alabama made the score 8-4. That lead later became 11-5. Natalia Nieto would reach 300 assists for the year in the second set, as she’s currently in the top ten in the Sun Belt in that category.
South Alabama’s lead would extend to 18-9 and to a 25-14 victory to put them at 2-0 in the match. Sophomore middle blocker Symone Stephenson had four kills at this juncture, but Georgia State’s Deidra Bohannon led all players with 11.
Set Three
The final frame of the match would also go in the direction of the Jaguars. They had an 18-12 lead as they closed in on their match-deciding win. South Alabama would do so by a final score of 25-18.
Daniel led the Jaguars with 11 kills. Lewis would also have seven with a .375 hitting percentage. Junior setter Emily Hundt had 20 assists where freshman setter Emma Anderson contributed 12. The team also added eight blocks.
Bohannon led all players with 15 kills in a losing effort for Georgia State. Zachary was second on the team in that category with 10. Nieto added 12 digs to her 30 assists. Georgia State had three blocks.
The Panthers will return home to the Georgia State Sports Arena on Friday for their battle against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR) Trojans at 6 p.m.
