Georgia State sand volleyball concluded the second of its two school-hosted tournaments of the season when the Panthers earned a pair of victories in the Southeast Sand Slam at the Sand Volleyball Complex.
The Panthers earned team victories over University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) and the University of Arkansas-Birmingham (UAB). In addition, Georgia State’s pairing of Nina Interwies and Jessica Fourspring earned a victory over ULM’s Bayleigh Hoffman and Hadley Swartz in the pairs tournament’s Silver Bracket.
Georgia State will compete in more pairs competition this weekend on April 11-12 at Siesta Key, Florida. The competition will also feature 26 other schools.
Friday: 4-1 win over ULM
Majda Dostalova and Milani Pickering (Georgia State) defeated Marcela Araya and Michelle McNamee (ULM), 21-19, 17-21, 15-8
Hope Pawlik and Katie Lindstrom (ULM) defeated Kate Rawls and Sarah Agnew (Georgia State), 20-22, 21-16, 15-11
Jansen Button and Sara Olivova (Georgia State) defeated Alannah Cullum and Claire Crossfield (Georgia State), 21-13, 21-15
Delaney Rohan and Nina Interwies (Georgia State) defeated Hadley Swartz and Bayleigh Hoffman (ULM), 21-11, 21-8
Jessica Fourspring and Alexis Townsend (Georgia State) defeated Kaitlyn Shearer and Taylor Zaeske (ULM), 21-16
Friday: 3-2 win over UAB
Kiri Hirini and Bethanie Thomas (UAB) defeated Majda Dostalova and Milani Pickering (Georgia State), 21-23, 22-20, 15-8
Rachel Fairbanks and Sara Rishell (UAB) defeated Kate Rawls and Sarah Agnew (Georgia State), 21-19, 23-21, 16-14
Jansen Button and Sara Olivova (Georgia State) defeated Anna Messisco and Gabbi Moreno (UAB), 21-9, 21-11
Jessica Fourspring and Nina Interwies (Georgia State) defeated Ally Slaughter and Leslie Ekpe (UAB), 21-15, 21-16
Natalie Wilson and Delaney Rohan (Georgia State) defeated Becca Howard and Avei Logoleo (UAB), 21-14, 21-13
Molly Smestad and Alexis Elmurr (Georgia State) defeated Amber Treace and Haley Jared (UAB), 21-15, 21-12
Gold bracket
In the pairs competition, both Georgia State pairs that played matches in the Gold Bracket won their first-round matchups. Rawls and Agnew defeated College of Charleston’s Lauren Hollman and Mackenzie Cooler, 21-14, 21-19. Button and Olivova were winners over the Cougars’ Bailey Humes and Maddie Hills, 18-21, 21-15, 15-9.
Button and Olivova lost to ULM’s Araya and McNamee, 21-19, 12-21, 15-12 and Rawls and Agnew fell to UAB’s Hirini and Thomas, 21-19, 21-15 in the second round. Dostalova and Pickering earned a 17-21, 21-18, 15-12 win over UAB’s Fairbanks and Rishell, advancing to the semifinals.
Cougar’s Melissa Morello and Catey Warren eliminated the Panthers’ Dostalova and Pickering in the semifinals, 16-21, 21-11, 15-9. Button and Olivova earned a 21-18 win over Fairbanks and Rishell. Georgia State’s Rawls and Agnew topped Pawlik and Lindstrom, 21-10 as both Panthers pairs finished tied for fifth in the Gold Bracket.
Morello and Warren were crowned champions of the Gold Bracket.
Silver Bracket
Fourspring and Interwies earned a first-round bye for the Silver Bracket, automatically placing them in the second round. Smestad and Elmurr proved victorious over the Cougars’ Krissy Mummey and Megan Quigley, 21-18, 21-14. Another first-round tilt featured Panthers vs. Panthers as Deidra Bohannon and Alexis Townsend advanced to the second round with a 21-16, 21-16 win over Delaney Rohan and Natalie Wilson.
In the second round, Fourspring and Interwies dispatched UAB’s Howard and Logoleo, 21-8, 21-13. Another Georgia State win came by way of Bohannon and Townsend over UAB’s Messisco and Moreno, 21-7, 21-14. ULM’s Swartz and Hoffman eliminated the Panthers’ Smestad and Elmurr, 14-21, 21-19, 15-9.
The semifinals saw Fourspring and Interwies advance to the finals with a 21-13, 21-15 win over Shearer and Zaeske of ULM. The Warhawks’ Swartz and Hoffman also advanced as they defeated the Panthers’ Bohannon and Townsend, 28-26, 21-14.
Fourspring and Interwies dropped the first set to Swartz and Hoffman, 20-22 but prevailed in the final two sets, 21-11, 15-11.
