Volleyball Prepares For Conference Matchup Against Georgia State

Friday, October 27

Atlanta, Ga. / GSU Sports Arena

5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET

Southern Miss

Georgia State

Volleyball Prepares For Conference Matchup Against Georgia State

10/26/2023 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

HATTIESBURG, Miss.-Southern Miss Volleyball (8-13, 3-7 Sun Belt) prepares for its last road series of the season with a pair of matches in Atlanta, Ga. against the Georgia State Panthers (5-16, 2-8 Sun Belt) on Oct. 27-28.

The Golden Eagles will start play in the GSU Sports Arena on Friday at 5 p.m. CT, followed by a second contest at noon CT on Saturday.

Follow Along

Saturday's match will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Southern Miss split its series last week against Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark. After the Red Wolves swept the Golden Eagles Thursday, Southern Miss snapped a three-game losing streak by rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a reverse sweep Friday. The game marked the program's first reverse sweep since Jan. 29, 2021, against Southeastern Louisiana.

The Golden Eagles' dramatic comeback was sparked by junior Mia Wesley's dominant performance on the attack. The Orem, Utah native posted a season-high 24 kills on a .310 clip, while also adding seven digs, a season-best three assists and four total blocks.

Southern Miss looks to continue its momentum heading into the Peach State, facing a Georgia State volleyball team that has skidded to a five-game losing streak. The Panthers have lost all five games by a score of 3-0.

Southern Miss Quick Hits

With six more games remaining in the regular season, Southern Miss currently stands as the No. 5 seed in the West Division at 3-7.

After recording a total of 31 kills last week, Wesley trails the No. 9 spot for most kills in program history by only 17 kills. Wesley needs only four more kills to reach the milestone mark for 1,500 career kills.

The Golden Eagles recorded 14 service aces against Arkansas State on Friday, the second-most in a game this season.

Freshman setter Franky Panunzio was instrumental in leading Southern Miss' comeback against Arkansas State Saturday, dishing out a career-best 30 assists coming off of the bench, and also registering her second career double-double with 12 digs. Offensively, Panunzio also scored on a career-best three kills.

Through five weekends of conference play, libero Megan Harris leads the Sun Belt with 4.97 digs per set. The Nesbit, Miss. native is 58 digs away from reaching 1,000 career digs

Georgia State Quick Hits

Georgia State is led by second-year head coach Terry Hutchinson. In his first season with the Panthers, Georgia State finished 7-22 (3-13 Sun Belt).

Junior libero Livy Kowalkowski leads the Sun Belt with 374 digs in all games this season.

Freshman middle blocker Akira Burt ranks third in the Sun Belt with 1.29 total blocks and tenth in the conference with a .286 hitting percentage in conference play.

Georgia State ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 2.29 blocks with a total of 87 blocks in conference play.

Series History

Southern Miss is 3-0 all-time versus Georgia State. The Golden Eagles met the Panthers for the first time since 1985 last season, winning both matches at home in the Wellness Center. This season will mark the first time Southern Miss has met Georgia State in Atlanta, Ga.