The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Jansen Button and Sara Olivova from Georgia State’s sand volleyball team were named AVCA All-Americans Sunday at the 2015 National Championships. The pair became the second and third Panthers to win the award for sand volleyball.

“It’s an individual award, but Sara and Jansen will be the first to recognize the team’s contribution to getting them here,” head coach Beth Van Fleet said. “These two had high-pressure matches today and they stepped up and played great.”

Competing in the pairs championships, No. 10 seed Jansen Button and Sara Olivova defeated No. 7 seed Melanie Pavels and Taylor Nyquist (Florida State) 21-14, 18-21, 15-13 in the first round of the tournament. After winning the first set, the Panther pair fell behind in Set 2, only to rally and tie the match at 8-8. FSU pulled away late to force a third set, in which Button and Olivova fell behind 10-8 before going on a run to win 15-13. Button recorded 19 kills and 15 digs while Olivova came up with two blocks and five aces.

In the quarterfinals, GSU ran into the No. 2 seed in the bracket, Betsi Metter and Sarah Sponcil from Loyola Marymount. Metter and Sponcil ran away in the first set, winning 21-11. Olivova and Button battled back in Set 2 to win 25-23, but couldn’t hold off the Lion duo. LMU won 15-7 in the third set to knock out the Panther pair. Button once again tallied 19 kills and Olivova a block and two aces.

Both juniors, Olivova and Button are the first Panthers to earn AVCA All-American honors since Lane Carico in 2013. Playing in Flights 1-4 in the regular season, Olivova and Button went 23-11 to pass Katie Madewell as the winningest players in the program’s three-year history (57).