STATESBORO – It took five sets for a second straight match, but Georgia Southern volleyball completed the season sweep of Georgia State with a 3-2 (25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 17-15) Sun Belt victory over the Panthers on Saturday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Eagles of the Match
Baylor Bumford hit .429 with a team-high 19 kills, while Mya Wilson (13 kills) and Maddie Bryant (10 kills) also reached double digit kills. Grace Slader tallied 49 assists and nine digs, while Ashlyn Lovett collected a team-best 21 digs.
Key Moments
The Eagles (12-4, 5-1) hit .433 with no errors in taking the first set comfortably. The Panthers took a tight second set aided in large part by two review calls and a point penalty that went the way of Georgia State (3-13, 0-6).
Georgia Southern got out to another hot start in the third set, leading 10-4, but the Panthers would fight back to tie the set at 19-all, then score six of the next nine points to close out the set. With Georgia State leading 4-3 in the fourth set, the Eagles went on a 10-0 run to take charge of the set and tie the match at 2-all.
The Eagles led 8-4 in the fifth set and had three match points fought off by the Panthers until a block by Mya Wilson and Robin Rosser on the fourth match point clinched the victory.
Stat of the Match
Both teams saved their best for last as Georgia State hit .385 with 12 kills in the fifth set, while Georgia Southern hit .379 with 13 kills. But the Panthers fell in five sets for a fourth straight match with the loss.
Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"Another battle tonight, and we're extremely proud of our group's effort and energy. Staying the course has been a consistent theme all season long, and after finding ourselves down two sets to one again, we found a way to respond. Our first contact really set the tone tonight, allowing us to play through our middles, and our defensive intensity carried over by allowing us to extend rallies, pressuring them when we needed to. A solid team win to cap off another good weekend!"
Next up
The Eagles travel to Troy to take on the Trojans on Friday, October 15, at 7 p.m. in Troy, Ala. The contest will air live on ESPN+.
