ATLANTA - The Georgia State volleyball team will return to Atlanta for consecutive home matches against Sun Belt foes Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina Oct. 1-2 at GSU Sports Arena.

The Panthers will look to bounce back after opening Sun Belt play with consecutive road setbacks at ULM and Louisiana last weekend. For the season, Georgia State hoists a 3-9 record overall, including a 0-2 mark in SBC play. 

PANTHER QUICK HITS
- Claire Lewis currently leads the Sun Belt in service aces with 20.
- Erin Wyatt has been effective both offensively and defensively for the Panthers as she ranks second on the team in kills (112), second in digs (127) and third in total blocks (27). 
- Meisheia Griffin is having another stellar season as the super senior ranks fourth in the SBC with a .325 hitting percentage, while also ranking second in total blocks (52).

LAST TIME OUT (ULM/Louisiana)
- Georgia State hit the road to face ULM and Louisiana in it's first two conference matches of the season. 
(ULM)
- Against ULM, Georgia State got off to a hot start winning set one before ULM stormed back to take the following three sets. Set four was the longest set of the season for the Panthers as the two teams combined for 12 match points. Overall, the set featured 20 tied scores and ten lead changes. 
- The Panthers were led by Wyatt, who notched her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 16 digs. Ava Vlkovic continued her stellar play defensively as she led Georgia State with 22 digs. Griffin had another solid performance as she tallied 11 kills while hitting .346. 
(Louisiana)
- Against Louisiana, the Panthers put together a resilient effort but eventually fell to 1-3. The Panthers were led by Leah Wilcox who tallied a season-high 15 kills and Griffin who notched 13 kills while hitting .444. Wilcox played well defensively also as she logged 13 digs for her second double-double of the season. 
- Vlkovic continued her stellar play as the sophomore libero registered 20 digs. Lewis and Truth Hafey also played well as the two setters combined for 43 assists.  

THE MATCHUPS 
- Georgia State owns a 9-11 mark all-time against Appalachian State. On Oct. 24, 2020, the Panthers defeated the Mountaineers, 3-1, in consecutive matches. 
- GSU owns a 3-16 record against Coastal Carolina with the last matchup coming last season when the Panthers fell at home, 0-3. 

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- App State enters the weekend 4-10 overall and 0-2 in Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers fell at home to Arkansas State 3-0 and to Little Rock, 3-2, last weekend.
- Emma Reilly has 238 digs on the season, which is second in the conference. McCall Denny has reached double figures in kills in nine matches this season, including four of her last five contests. 

SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS
- Coastal Carolina owns an 8-4 record overall including a 2-0 mark in Sun Belt play. The Chanticleers picked up consecutive home victories over Little Rock and Arkansas State last weekend. 
- Ani Bozdeva collected her seventh and eighth double-digit kill matches of the season last weekend in victories over Little Rock (14) and Arkansas State (17). Teammates Nyla Shepherd and Ilse Sinnige rank 1st and 3rd respectively as the top blocking duo in the Sun Belt. The sophomore Shepherd enters the weekend averaging 1.14 blocks per set and the junior Sinnige averages 1.05.

NEXT UP
After hosting Coastal Carolina and App State, Georgia State will host Georgia Southern on Oct. 7 before traveling to Statesboro for another match up with the Eagles on Oct. 9. 

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