The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

ATLANTA – Georgia State’s volleyball team won a big home match on Friday night against the second-place team in the Sun Belt, Texas State. The Panthers (5-14, 3-7) won the match 3-1 over the Bobcats (13-9, 8-2). The final score was 25-13, 16-25, 25-23, 25-22.

Natalia Nieto dished out 45 assists and had a double-double with 10 digs, her sixth of the year. Deidra Bohannon had a double-double of her own with 14 kills and 13 digs. Eliza Zachary added a team-high 17 kills on .371 hitting with two blocks and Kitan Ajanaku hit .538 with nine kills and two blocks.

“What a great spread of our offense,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “Multiple players stepped up tonight. Great defense by our team as well. Every day, we’re getting better and it’s fun to see the product on the court,” .

Nieto’s moved her into seventh all-time on Georgia State’s career assists list. She needs just six assists to move into sixth.

Five Panthers recorded five or more kills. Andrea Book had 6 kills on .417 hitting and added a block. Kristina Stinson finished the match with five kills and two blocks.

Gabby Serafin’s 18 digs led the team on defense. It was the second-highest total for the junior this season. She recorded 26 in last Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Georgia Southern. On defense, Georgia State had 57 digs.

Georgia State outhit the Bobcats .250-.173. Texas State had more team blocks with seven compared to GSU’s five.

The Panthers outhit the Bobcats .250-.173, including a .483 hitting percentage in the first set.

“We focused on defense a lot this week,” Serafin said. “This was a team win and it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward. We gave it our all tonight and the whole team played well.”