TALLAHASSEE – The Georgia State Panthers (6-1, SBC 0-0) continued their run of the best start to a season since 2003 with a straight-set victory over McNeese (3-5, Southland 0-0) on Friday at the Tully Gymnasium.
Akira Burt and Nazli Guvener paced the Georgia State offense with nine kills, while Marta Lazzarin anchored the defense with a team-high 17 digs.
How It Happened
Set 1 | The Panthers grabbed control of the set-one lead at 3-2 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 25-12. Georgia State led by as many as 14 points at 24-10 before closing out the set, totaling 16 kills in the set. Georgia State also supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set.
Set 2 | After their win in the first set, Georgia State put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 34-32 victory in set number two. The Panthers came out on top of a tight second set, winning in a stanza that was tied 15 times and had four lead changes. The Panthers racked up 18 kills over the course of the set. The Georgia State offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
Set 3 | Georgia State finished off the match in a 3-0 sweep after grabbing the third set. The Panthers led from the first point on in the set to secure a 25-12 victory. Georgia State ended on a high note, claiming its biggest lead, 13 points, to close out the set, collecting 15 kills without registering an attack error in the process.
Game Notes
- Shanelle Martinez had a match-high three aces in the win.
- Georgia State never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-12.
- Akira Burt had a match-high nine kills for Georgia State.
- Georgia State got a match-high 17 digs from Marta Lazzarin.
- Georgia State attackers were helped by a match-high 16 assists from Emily Harden.
Up Next
Georgia State continues their run in the FAMU Invitational as they face host FAMU for the second time this season on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. GSU will stay in Tallahassee until Monday, Sept. 15 for the ACC/SBC Challenge where they will meet FSU on the court at 5 p.m.
