In the team’s opening weekend series of the 2014 season, Georgia State volleyball lost two out of its three matchups. In Birmingham at the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge, the Panthers fell to Samford in straight sets before defeating Jacksonville State in four sets on Friday. On Saturday, the team lost to UAB.
Match 1: 3-0 Loss to Samford
In the opening match, the Panthers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening set before six consecutive points from the Bulldogs. Samford would embark on another run later in the match to eventually lead Georgia State 21-11. They would eventually win the first set 25-13.
The Panthers’ fortunes did not improve in the second set. The Bulldogs started off the set with a 13-2 advantage. Samford’s Michaela Reesor and Erin Bognar each had five kills apiece through two sets. Senior Chelsi Carter also chimed in with seven digs through the first two sets. Samford won the second set 25-12.
Georgia State was able to jump out to a 9-6 lead in the eventual final set before the Bulldogs came back to go ahead by four at 17-13. The Panthers were able to cut the deficit to one as Deidra Bohannon had six kills. The Bulldogs would eventually put Georgia State away with a 25-20 victory in the final set.
Match 2: 3-1 Win over Jacksonville State
In the first set, the Panthers got out to an early lead at 9-5 before Jacksonville State rallied to bring them within one at 14-13. The Panthers would eventually go on a run of four consecutive runs at 19-16, but the Gamecocks stayed in the match at 22-21. Georgia State would win the first set 25-21 as Bohannon had six kills. Natalia Nieto also had eight assists.
The Gamecocks came out strong in the second set by going on an early 6-1 run before the Panthers tied it up with five consecutive points. As the set was nearing its close, Georgia State held on to a slim lead before scoring six of the set’s last seven points to win 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead.
It wouldn’t be over yet as Jacksonville State kept the match alive with a 25-20 in the third set over the Panthers.
Leads of 16-9 and 20-14 in the third set put Georgia State in a good position to clinch the set and the match. It eventually did end with the Panthers prevailing 25-23 for head coach Sally Polhamus’ first victory at the helm. Bohannon finished the match with 22 of the team’s 54 kills.
Match 3: 3-1 Loss to UAB
The Blazers got out to an early 8-5 lead in the first set before Georgia State rallied back to go ahead 13-11. Polhamus called a timeout leading to the Panthers regrouping and scoring seven consecutive points to go ahead 15-11. UAB would tie it at 24 apiece before they committed a service error. Nieto’s service ace would clinch the first set for Georgia State.
After both teams traded points to begin the second set, UAB scored five of six points to go ahead by three at 9-6. The Blazers would eventually win the second set 25-18 to tie the match at one apiece. They held the Panthers to an attack percentage of .085 up to this point.
The third set began tied at three apiece before seven consecutive Blazer points put them ahead 10-3. The match would see the Georgia State debut of Kaylyn Torain who picked up her first career kill. The Panthers would assume a 13-12 lead at one point before UAB picked up its defensive intensity to go ahead 20-15. It would result in a 25-16 win for the Blazers to go ahead 2-1.
A litany of attack errors in the second half would come back to haunt Georgia State as the Blazers would take a 14-6 lead. Despite a furious rally from the Panthers to try to keep the set and match alive, the Blazers would win the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth and final set. In addition to Georgia State errors, 14 blocks by six different players helped the UAB cause. The Blazers’ Sydney Nelson had 18 kills while Alexis Howell pitched in with a career-high 20 kills. Five Panthers each had five or more kills.
The Panthers will play their home opener this Wednesday against Western Carolina at 6 p.m. from the Sports Arena.
