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Spartanburg, S.C. – Georgia State rallied from a 2-0 deficit and claimed a thrilling 3-2 win over USC Upstate in the Hampton Inn & Suites Spartan Classic Saturday in the G.B. Hodge Center.

Upstate fell to 0-5 with the loss and will next play when it travels to Hempstead, N.Y., to play in Hofstra's tournament next weekend. Georgia State improved to 2-3 on the year with the win.

Upstate got off to a fast start in the first set and it all started with a pair of aces from Amanda Carroll (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) for the game's first two points. The Spartans rattled off four straight points to open the set. Georgia State used an 8-2 run to take an 8-6 lead and the set was tied at 8-8. With Upstate leading 11-10, the Spartans benefitted from kills from a variety of players and Georgia State errors to open a 18-11 lead.

The 7-1 run spelled the difference as Upstate went on for the 25-18 win in the set. Georgia State managed to get as close as four points, 18-14, but the Spartans extended its lead and took the seven-point lead. The Spartans were led by Shannon Weiss and Alexa Lagaly (Greenville, S.C.) with three kills apiece.

Georgia State started quickly in the second set and opened a 4-1 lead early in the frame. However, Upstate fought back and the match was tied at 7-7. That is when the Spartans went on a 4-0 run to open an 11-7 lead, effectively gaining control of the set. The Panthers closed to within two, but Upstate pushed its lead to 16-11 and the Panthers could only get as close as three the rest of the way as the Spartans took the set, 25-17. Kayla Eversgerd (Breese, Ill.) led the way for Upstate with seven kills in the set.

Playing to try to extend the match after the intermission, Georgia State battled in the third set. The Panthers used three straight points to break a 3-3 tie and open a 6-3 lead. They increased their lead to five points, 15-10, before Upstate got within three, 18-15. Georgia State, though, rattled of three consecutive points to open a six point advantage and held off the Spartans for the 25-19 win in the set.

Georgia State used a 6-1 run to open an 8-3 lead early in the fourth set. With Georgia State leading 11-6, Upstate battled back with four straight to cut the Panther lead to 11-10. After the Panthers opened up an 18-15 lead, Upstate battled back by scoring the next five points to vault into a 20-18 advantage.

Georgia State wasn't done and outscored Upstate 5-2 over the next seven points to open a 23-22 lead. An ace from Panther Eliza Zachary gave the Panthers a 24-22 lead. Upstate got within a point, 24-23, but Sydney Hunsley  put a kill away for the next point as Georgia State took the 25-23 win and sending the match to a fifth and deciding set.

Upstate opened the fifth set by scoring the first two points, but Georgia State rallied back with three straight of its own. From that point on, the action teetered back and forth with neither team taking more than a one point lead until Upstate benefitted by a Panther ball handling error and a kill from Lagaly to open a 13-11 lead. Georgia State got a point back, but Upstate got within a point of ending the match on an attacking error, opening a 14-12 lead.

Georgia State rattled off three straight points to take a 15-14 lead. With the match on the line, Javon Gates (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Eversgerd combined on a block to tie the set at 15-15. After Andrea Ezell came up with a solo block, Upstate tied it on a Gates kill. The Spartans took a 17-16 lead on an attacking error by the Panthers. Georgia State tied it up on a kill from Zachary and opened an 18-17 lead on Molly Shonks's kill and won the match on a Spartan attacking error. The final score of the fifth set was 19-17.

Eversgerd led the Upstate attack with 16 kills and 18 digs. Emily Koelling (Bartelso, Ill.) added 13 kills, while Lexi Gober (Edwardsville, Ill.) recorded a season-high 48 assists. Kitan Ajanaku led Georgia State with 15 kills, while Hunsley had 13 and Zachary had 11.

Georgia State vs. Wofford
In what amounted to be the pseudo championship game becasue both tems entered with 1-0 records in the final match of the tournament, Georgia State claimed a 3-1 win over Wofford to finsh the tournament as the only undefeated team.

Georgia State won by scores of 25-20, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-18. The Panthers improved to 3-3 on the year with the win, while Wofford fell to 1-4.

Dede Bohannon led Georgia State with 13 kills and nine digs. Wendy Burnett and Taylor Baird each had 12 kills for Wofford.

All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player - Eliza Zachary, Georgia State
All-Tournament:
Georgia State - Kitan Ajanaku, Natalia Nieto
Wofford - Amanda Ligouri, Wendy Burnett
Upstate - Kayla Eversgerd, Emily Koelling

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