ATLANTA – Mya Wilson tallied a career-high 16 kills and added six blocks, and Georgia Southern fought off three match points in the fifth set to earn a 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-18, 17-15) Sun Belt volleyball win over Georgia State Thursday night in GSU Sports Arena.

Eagles of the Match 
Wilson hit .342 for the match, and Baylor Bumford added 13 kills and four blocks while hitting .367. Ashlyn Lovett notched a match-high 21 digs, while Meredith Eckard and Rebekah Farthing each posted 11. Paige Powers collected 10 kills and four digs in three sets of action, while Robin Rosser and Hannah McGlockton each tallied eight kills. Grace Slader finished with 54 assists, six digs, an ace and a block.

Key Moments
State (3-12, 0-5) won seven straight points to turn a 7-4 deficit into an 11-7 lead in the fifth as Isabelle Percoco and Meisheia Griffin combined for three blocks during the run. A kill by Leah Wilcox made the score 14-11, but the Eagles (11-4, 4-1) fought off three set points as Powers and Rosser put down kills and the Panthers committed a hitting error. Southern took a 16-15 lead on a kill by Wilson, and Powers followed with a kill to give the Eagles the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.

State led the match 1-0 and the second set 23-21, but the Eagles scored the last four points of the frame with three coming behind the serve of Slader. McGlockton got the sideout with a kill, the Panthers committed a pair of hitting errors and Bumford put down a kill to end the set.

Stat of the Match
The match saw 34 ties and 16 lead changes, including four ties and three lead changes in the fifth set. It was the third straight five-set loss for the Panthers.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"What a battle tonight! I think when it's all said and done, the grit, determination and effort of our team really showed at the tail end of that match. I thought our first contact and defensive intensity was dialed in and once again, we had people come off the bench and step into some big moments. We didn't execute in certain areas as much as we would have liked, but we continue to show our resiliency as a team with our effort and energy. I'm proud of our group for grinding out another tough road win."

Next up
The Eagles and Panthers will play again Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. It's Student Appreciation Night, and the contest will air live on ESPN+.