Georgia State sand volleyball heads to nationals for first time

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Georgia State’s sand volleyball team will be competing for a national championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. May 1-3 in just its third year of existence. One of eight teams selected by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, GSU (18-1) will take on Pepperdine in the opening round.

“The hard work is paying off,” head coach Beth Van Fleet said. “It’s one thing to be selected, now we have to turn our focus to preparation and finishing the task at hand. Our team has been playing hard all season to get here and we aren’t satisfied with just making an appearance.”

Georgia State rose to new heights this season, setting records for highest-ranking (No. 7), highest-ranked win (Defeated No. 4 Florida State 3-2), and most wins in a season (18). Now, the team can add a post-season berth to the 2015 highlight reel. The Panthers are the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4-seeded Pepperdine on May 1 in the first round.

All five of Georgia State’s top pairs own winning records, with the most wins belonging to Sara Olivova and Jansen Button who are 23-11 on the year in Flights 1-3. Delaney Rohan and Natalie Wilson are 19-5, primarily playing at the No. 4 spot while Jessica Fourspring and Nina Interwies are 15-1 and have not lost in dual play. Majda Dostalova and Milani Pickering are 20-11 this spring and Kate Rawls is a combined 24-10 with Sarah Agnew and Nina Interwies.

Eight of the current upperclassmen were part of the inaugural team in 2013 that saw the Panther pair of Lane Carico and Katie Madewell advance to the semifinals in the pairs section of the AVCA Nationals.

“They went to Gulf Shores to support their teammates and they could see themselves making it to the tournament one day. I think that experience really helped motivate our senior and junior class to work hard so to make it to Nationals,” Van Fleet said.