Georgia State volleyball’s road trip through the state of Texas began in inauspicious fashion as the Panthers were defeated by the Texas State Bobcats in four sets. This brings Georgia State’s record to 9˗17 on the season and 7˗10 in Sun Belt play.
These two teams previously met at the Sports Arena with the Panthers prevailing over the Bobcats in four sets.
Set 1
The first set would start out in competitive fashion that saw the Panthers and Bobcats tied at 3˗3, 4˗4, and 5˗5. With both teams knotted at 6, Georgia State then embarked on a 3˗0 run that saw Kristina Stinson contribute a pair of kills along with a service ace courtesy of Deidra Bohannon.
This gave the Panthers a 9˗6 advantage. Kills from Lauren Kirch and Kelsey Weynand of Texas State brought the Bobcats to within one at 9˗8 before an attacking error from Alexandra Simms made the score 10˗8 in favor of Georgia State.
That two point advantage would be maintained as the tally would become 11˗9, 12˗10, and 13˗11 in favor of the Panthers. But, midway through the opening set, two Georgia State errors would bring the score to an even 13˗13.
An attack error from Bohannon would give the Bobcats a slim 14˗13 before a 3˗0 run by the Panthers that included kills from Bohannon, Andrea Book, and Kitan Ajanaku made the score 16˗14 in favor of Georgia State. Book and Ajanaku then contributed a block to make the Panthers’ lead increase to 17˗14.
Both teams then exchanged the next three points as Georgia State maintained its two point advantage at 20˗17. Alexandra Simms brought Texas State to within two at 20˗18 before a pair of Eliza Zachary kills brought the score to 22˗18 in favor of Georgia State.
A Kristina Stinson service ace after a Bobcats timeout made the score 23˗18 in favor of the Panthers before two Jordan Kohl kills and an attack error from Zachary brought Texas State to within two at 23˗21, leading to a timeout from Georgia State.
Another Kohl kill plus another Panthers error completed a 5˗0 run for Texas State to tie it up at 23.
Bohannon came up with a score off another Georgia State timeout to make the score 24˗23 before Kelsey Weynand tied it up at 24. Deidra Bohannon and Lauren Kirch then traded scores for a 25˗25 tally. That score became 26˗26 after an Ajanaku kill that was followed up by a Stinson error.
Caylin Mahoney’s attack error made the score 27˗26 in favor of Georgia State before Texas State closed the first set with a 3˗0 that included kills from Simms and Kohl as well as an attack error from Zachary. The Bobcats won the first set 29˗27.
Set 2
Georgia State would respond with a huge showing in the second frame.
Two Zachary kills and a service ace from Sydney Mauer allowed the Panthers to begin the second set with a 3˗0 lead. The first score of the second set was courtesy of a Jordan Kohl kill before Zachary contributed one of her own in addition to a service ace from Stinson for a 5˗1 Georgia State lead.
The Panthers would maintain their four point lead with scores of 6˗2 and 7˗3. Two attack errors from Kirch led to a 9˗3 advantage for Georgia State along with a timeout from the Bobcats.
Off the timeout, Kirch contributed a kill followed up by one courtesy of Natalia Nieto. Stinson then committed an attack error to make the score 10˗5 in favor of the Panthers before a 4˗0 run featuring two Book kills and a pair of Texas State errors saw the Georgia State advantage grow to 14˗5.
After another Bobcats timeout, the lead was maintained at 15˗6 before a Kohl score and a Simms ace brought the tally to 15˗8. The Panthers would then score two of the next three points with kills from Zachary and Bohannon as the Georgia State lead became eight again at 17˗9.
Texas State then went on a 3˗0 run. After a Kirch kill and an Ajanaku error, the Panthers called timeout. Kirch then scored another kill in that sequence after Georgia State asked for time. Bohannon then committed an error that brought the score to 17˗13.
A Bohannon kill, a Nieto service ace, and a Kirch attack error all equaled a 3˗0 Panthers run as the score became 20˗13 in favor of Georgia State.
Two Simms kills and one from Kirch closed the Bobcats’ deficit to 20˗16 as the Panthers asked for time again. Another Simms kill brought the deficit to within three at 20˗17.
Bohannon would give the Panthers a 21˗17 lead, but it became 21˗18 as she committed a service error. A Kirch error and a Zachary kill made the Georgia State lead five again at 23˗18.
Mahoney, Kohl, and Amanda Watkins all helped out the Texas State cause as they went on a 3˗0 run to bring the score to 23˗21 before a Zachary kill and a Simms attack error brought the third set to a close with Georgia State winning 25˗21.
Set 3
It would be the Bobcats who began a set with a 4˗1 run this time with the lone Panthers score coming from a service error from Simms. That included two kills from Kohl as well as scores from Keeley Davis and Sierra Smith.
A Smith service error, a Bohannon kill, and a Stinson service ace would bring the Panthers to a tie of the Bobcats at 4˗4. The Georgia State run extended to 5˗0 with two Texas State errors.
Stinson was then responsible for a service error that was followed up by a Mahoney kill for a 6˗6 tie. The two teams then exchanged the next four points as they remained all square at 10 apiece.
The tenth point this set for the Bobcats was courtesy of a Mahoney kill. After that, three Georgia State errors contributed to a 13˗10 Texas State lead, prompting a Panthers timeout.
A Simms kill plus an Ajanaku error made the tally 15˗10 in favor of the Bobcats as Georgia State asked for time again. Off the timeout, kills from Kohl and Brooke Smith plus three more Panthers miscues led to the Bobcats’ run extending to 11˗0 run prior to the first kill of the game from Andrea’ Ezell.
That stopped the 11˗0 Texas State run, but the Bobcats’ lead had become 20˗11. Two Smith kills, a Kohl kill, plus a Stinson error forced set point at 24˗11. Georgia State scored the next two points with a Simms error and a Zachary kill before one from Kohl sealed the third frame for the Bobcats at 25˗13.
Set 4
The first point of the fourth stanza was awarded to Georgia State courtesy of a kill credited to Zachary off a blocking error by Simms. Kills from Simms, Smith, and a Bohannon error led to an early 3˗1 Bobcats lead. A Simms service error and Ajanaku kill evened the score at three apiece.
After a kill from Kohl to make the score 4˗3, the Panthers embarked on a 3˗0 run that included kills from Bohannon and Book along with a Texas State attack error. With the score at 6˗4 in favor of Georgia State, Kohl brought Texas State to within one at 6˗5 before the Panthers went on a 4˗0 run that included kills from Book and Zachary along with a team service ace from Molly Shonk.
After a timeout from the Bobcats, Shonk contributed another team service ace.
With the score at 11˗6 in favor of the Panthers, that became 12˗11. Alexandra Simms put in a kill that was followed by a Zachary attack error. The lone Georgia State point of the ensuing sequence came off of a Brenna Lyles error. Two more Panthers errors plus an Ali Gonzales service ace brought the Bobcats to within one as Georgia State asked for time.
Bohannon scored with a kill after a timeout before a Smith kill and Bohannon error tied the set up at 13. A Simms service ace plus a Bohannon attack error all equaled a 4˗0 Texas State run and a 15˗13 Bobcats lead.
The Bobcats briefly maintained their two point advantage at 16˗14 before two Texas State errors tied it up again at 16. Kills from Lauren and Kirch allowed the Bobcats to gain the lead at 18˗16.
After an Ajanaku kill, a Davis kill and a Zachary attack error made the score 20˗17 in favor of Texas State. Stinson, Bohannon, and Zachary each contributed kills along with an error by the Bobcats for a 21˗21 tie. The lone Texas State point came courtesy of a Sydney Mauer service error.
A Zachary kill gave the Panthers a 22˗21 lead before two Simms kills and an attack error from Bohannon forced match point at 24˗22 Texas State. This led to a Georgia State timeout. Then, Simms put in the match˗winning score as the Bobcats sealed a victory over the Panthers 25˗22 and three sets to one.
For the Panthers, Bohannon and Zachary each finished with 17 kills. Bohannon also had 14 digs. On the Texas State side, Kohl had 18 kills and a .615 hitting percentage. Simms finished with 13 kills.
Georgia State will be back on the court Nov. 15 as they continue their road trip through the Lone Star State with a matchup against UT Arlington.
