Rebounding from a four set defeat to Arkansas State the previous night, Georgia State volleyball was victorious over the visiting UL˗Monroe Warhawks on Saturday night at the Sports Arena in three sets.
The win is the Panthers’ ninth victory overall and their seventh in Sun Belt play.
“You’ve got to give it to our leaders like Deidra [Bohannon] and Eliza [Zachary]. They were able to step up,” Head coach Sally Polhamus said after the match. “We still need a total team effort, though. It was a big win for us as we head on the road next weekend to play two tough team.”
Set 1
The Warhawks began the first set with three consecutive points that saw two players score kills along with an ace from freshman outside hitter Bayleigh Hoffman. Eliza Zachary’s first two kills and a service ace from Molly Shonk evened the score at 3˗3.
UL˗Monroe would then score three of the following four points with one of the scores coming from a Zachary service error. Deidra Bohannon’s second kill and a ball handling error courtesy of Hoffman would even the score at 6 apiece.
Outside hitter Hope Pawlik’s first kill along with a service ace from middle blocker Alannah Cullum allowed ULM to go ahead by two at 8˗6. Bohannon’s third kill made the score 8˗7 before she committed a service error for a 9˗7 score.
Hadley Swartz’ third kill gave the Warhawks a 10˗7 before Andrea Book’s first kill and an error from Kaitlyn Shearer brought Georgia State to within one at 10˗9.
Swartz and Zachary exchanged kills before one from Jennifer McClendon gave the Warhawks a 12˗10 lead. Three UL˗Monroe errors plus kills from Zachary and Bohannon led to a 5˗0 Panthers run, a 15˗12 lead and a Warhawks timeout.
A Bohannon kill would increase the Georgia State advantage to 16˗12. The Panthers and Warhawks would then exchange the next two points as Georgia State maintained its four point advantage at 18˗14.
Pawlik then committed an attack error which was followed by a Kitan Ajanaku kill for a 20˗14 lead for Georgia State. The Panthers would maintain their six point lead at 22˗16 as Ajanaku was responsible for the following two Georgia State points.
Shearer would contribute a kill for UL˗Monroe’s 17th point of the set before a Mauer service ace and two Swartz errors would give Georgia State a win in the first set, 25˗17.
Set 2
ULM would score the first pair of points of the second frame before a bad serve from the Warhawks and a Molly Shonk ace evened the tally at two apiece.
Georgia State would then embark on a 6˗2 to go ahead by four at 8˗4 leading to a UL˗Monroe timeout before the Warhawks would respond with a 5˗1 run to even the score at 9˗9, prompting a Panthers timeout.
UL˗Monroe would then go ahead by two at 12˗10 before the Warhawks committed a lane violation followed by a Bohannon kill to tie it up again at 12.
McClendon then contributed a kill which was followed by a Georgia State attack error for a 14˗12 lead before the Panthers retook the lead in a three˗play sequence that included a kill from Zachary and a ULM violation.
The score would remain close as the second set continued with the score all even at 17 before the Panthers would go on a 3˗0 run that included a Bohannon kill and a Warhawks attack error. Georgia State would go ahead 20˗17 as UL˗Monroe asked for time.
A Panthers attack error and a score from Swartz would bring the Warhawks within one at 20˗19 before Bohannon contributed a kill and two aces as Georgia State pulled ahead by four at 23˗19. The two teams then exchanged service errors for a 24˗20 before Andrea Book provided the set˗winning score for a 25˗20 Panthers victory in set number two entering the intermission period.
Set 3
The third period would begin with the two teams playing each other close. The Panthers and Warhawks would be knotted at 2˗2, 3˗3, 5˗5, and 6˗6.
After a Georgia State attack error, Kitan Ajanaku contributed a kill to make the score all even at eight apiece.
A 4˗0 UL˗Monroe run would give them a 12˗8 advantage leading to a Panthers timeout. Georgia State would score four of the following five points that included a Warhawks attack error and a lane violation.
ULM would take a 14˗12 lead midway through the third set before a pair of consecutive scores from Bohannon produced a tie score at 14.
Georgia State and UL˗Monroe would then exchange the ensuing two points before a Panthers service error gave the Warhawks a 17˗16 lead. That lead would then become 19˗16 as the 3˗0 run produced a Georgia State timeout.
Off the timeout, the Warhawks asked for time two plays later off a Bohannon kill and a Warhawks attacking error going out of bounds. The ensuing play off that timeout was a Bohannon ace which was followed by UL˗Monroe hitting the ball four times for a 20˗19 Georgia State lead.
With the score all even at 20, the Panthers would go ahead by three including a Book kill and a Shearer service error that found the net. The Warhawks would call timeout with the Panthers two points shy of winning the match.
Book would make the score 24˗22 before two consecutive ULM points would bring the tally to 24 apiece. The two teams then exchanged the following two points to tie the score at 25 before the Warhawks went ahead by one at 26˗25. UL˗Monroe would complete its rally to claim the third set, 27˗25.
“We need to start finishing,” Bohannon said after the match. “As a team, we talk about being strong and resilient. We cannot allow teams to get back into sets as we get closer to the tournament.”
Set 4
The first kill for the Panthers of the fourth stanza would come courtesy of Natalia Nieto. A ULM service error and two Ajanaku kills would give Georgia State an early 4˗1 lead.
The next two Panthers kills would come from a blocking error, a Zachary kill, and a rotation violation assessed against the Warhawks as Georgia State’s lead became 7˗3. That lead would expand to five at 9˗4 with a block and another Zachary kill before a service error made the score 9˗5. The Warhawks would then close the gap to three at 10˗7.
UL˗Monroe would trim its deficit down to 11˗9 before a hitting violation and an Ajanaku kill expanded the Georgia State lead back to 13˗9. This led to another timeout from the Warhawks.
Off the timeout, Bohannon put in her fourth ace for a 14˗9 score before a blocking error made it 14˗10.
With the score at 14˗11, a three˗play sequence that included Bohannon score her 19th kill would bring the score to 17˗11, leading to another timeout from UL˗Monroe.
UL˗Monroe responded with four consecutive points, including a Georgia State attacking error and a kill from Shearer to bring the score to 17˗15. The Panthers would then ask for time.
Georgia State’s lead would grow to four at 22˗18 before the next two points went to the Warhawks to bring the gap to two at 22˗20.
A kill from Molly Shonk would bring the score to 23˗20 before an ensuing serve from Bohannon would go out of bounds for a 23˗21 score. ULM would tie it up at 23 on a sequence that included Taylor Zaeske’s 12th kill.
The Panthers would then force match point as they went ahead, 24˗23 before Zachary’s 15th kill would be the game˗winner for a 25˗23 win for the set and the match.
| Georgia State | UL-Monroe |
|---|---|
| Bohannon: 23 kills, 21 digs, .370 hitting | Zachary: 16 kills, .406 hitting |
| Swartz: 14 kills, .324 hitting | Zaeske: 11 kills |
The Panthers will take the court again on Friday as the team takes to the road to face Texas State.
