MONROE, La. – In the first weekend of round-robin conference play, the Georgia State volleyball team swept UL Monroe 3-0 in Monroe, La., on Friday.
The Panthers (3-8, 1-1) won 25-16, 26-24, and 25-16 to snap a five-match losing streak. Junior Kitan Ajanaku hit .692 with 9 kills to lead the Panthers on offense. As a team, Georgia State hit .295 to ULM's .161.
“All week, we've been working on managing the game and managing our side of the net. We did a much better job of that tonight and it showed,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “We were tied 24-24 in the second set, but the team persevered and pulled out the win. That's a big step forward. We were happy with the way we came out strong in the third set as well.”
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
- Georgia State is now 4-0 all-time against ULM
- Sophomore Kristina Stinson had 9 kills, tied for best on the team.
- Junior Natalia Nieto's 25 assists led all players.
- Seven Panthers recorded kills on the night with four having seven or more kills.
- Junior Eliza Zachary continued her hot streak with another strong performance. The middle blocker had two blocks to go with 8 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
The first set went back-and-forth until the Panthers edged out a 20-16 lead. ULM called a timeout, but it was in vein as GSU rattled off five points unanswered to win the first set 25-16.
Set two had a similar story. Georgia managed to build a slim lead late in the set. This time, ULM came rallying back from down five to take a 24-23 lead over Georgia State. Polhamus called a timeout of her own and her squad rebounded to win the set 26-24.
Georgia State went ahead early in the third set and never looked back. The Warhawks pulled within three, but Georgia State responded with six-straight to go on top 18-9. GSU would go on to win the set 25-16.
NEXT UP…
Georgia State heads to Mobile, Ala., next to face South Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. After Sunday's match, the Panthers return home for just the second time this season for a meeting with UALR on Sept. 26.
