JONESBORO, Ark. - In its opening Sun Belt match, the Georgia State volleyball team fell in five sets to Arkansas State.

The Panthers (5-10) took the first and fourth sets against the Red Wolves (5-11), but Arkansas State proved to be too much in the final set. A-State won the match 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 15-6. 

"For the most part we executed our game plan," head coach Tami Audia said. "It was honestly like playing ourselves. We are very similar statistically, and one of the main differences was they were at home. We don't want to use that as an excuse, but we needed a few extra things to go our way. We were solid as a team tonight, as were they, but we didn't execute in fifth set."

In the third set, Georgia State led 23-21 and was two points away from taking a 2-1 lead. The Red Wolves fought back and won four straight points, three on kills and one on an attacking error from Georgia State.

Sophomore Dede Bohannon led the Panthers in scoring with 17 kills. Sophomore Eliza Zachary had 13 kills on .375 hitting. 

Junior Andrea' Ezell led the defensive effort for the Panthers with four solo blocks. Junior Natalia Nieto had 25 assists, while senior Emily Averbeck added 18 more digs to her career total. 

Sarah Kemp led all scorers with 18 kills. The Red Wolves also had two other scorers in double-digits, Kelsey Sullivan and Sadie Clark. A-State hit .225 for the match, compared to the Panthers' .128. 

The Panthers have a short time to regroup, as they will travel on Saturday to Little Rock, Ark., and face off with UALR at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

"Every night in the Sun Belt is going to be tough," Audia said. "GSU volleyball needs to learn every night is going to require effort every single match. I'm excited for our program to be in the conference and to learn that we can't take a night off."

Georgia State will host their conference home opener on Wed., Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. in the Sports Arena.