TROY, Ala. - The Georgia State volleyball team defeated Troy, 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-21), Saturday night at Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala., to notch its first Sun Belt Conference victory of the 2021 campaign.

With the victory, the Panthers snapped an eight match losing streak, while earning their first road win and first Sun Belt win of the season.

For the year, Georgia State improves to 4-14, 1-7 Sun Belt while Troy falls to 11-8, 4-4 Sun Belt.

The Panthers were led by Julianna Truscott who tallied 10 kills while hitting .304 for the contest. Evoni Lemons continued her stellar play as the talented freshman also registered 10 kills while adding seven digs.

Setters Jenna Brown and Claire Lewis both put together strong performances as they each notched 17 assists. Lewis had a major impact on the Panthers offensive attack as she tallied five kills from the setter position. 

Georgia State came out with a balanced offensive attack in set one as six players notched at least one kill. The Panthers opened the contest on a 13-8 run before Troy responded with a 7-3 run of its own to pull within one. Georgia State then put together a 9-2 run to win the set, 25-17.

Troy was able to get its offense going in set two as the Trojans had three players tally three or more kills. Although Troy went on to win set two, the set was tightly contested as it featured seven tied scores and six lead changes. The Panthers were led by Lemons and Leah Wilcox in set two as they combined for eight kills.

Georgia State refused to let Troy's momentum carry over into set three as the Panthers responded with a 25-22 victory. As a team, Georgia State tallied 12 kills and 16 digs while hitting .333. Meisheia Griffin led the Panthers in set three with three kills while hitting .400. The star super senior also logged three solo blocks in the set. 

Entering set four with a 2-1 match lead, head coach Sally Polhamus' team came out looking to finish the contest as they jumped out to a 7-3 lead. Troy fought its way back into the set and eventually tied it up at 13. The Panthers then responded with a 5-0 run to take an 18-13 lead. Georgia State refused to relinquish the lead and went on to win the set, 25-21, to notch its first Sun Belt victory of the season.

Georgia State will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts Arkansas State (Oct. 22) and Little Rock (Oct. 23) next weekend, before hosting UT Arlington (Oct. 29) and Texas State (Oct. 30) the following weekend.   

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