The Panthers of Georgia State upset the Blue Hens of Delaware in a come-from-behind win at 3-2 on October 1^st.

     Delaware led Georgia State 2-0 before the Panthers delivered a 25-20 third and 25-21 fourth set.

      In the deciding fifth set, the Panthers maintained their intensity from the first serve, to the final point finishing out at 15-12.

     “I am so proud of the team for fighting back against a really good Delaware squad,” head coach Tami Audia said to georgiastatesports.com, “Delaware was really skilled at every position, and looked strong in the first two sets. Our team did a great job of refocusing and winning the final three sets.”

      It was important for the Panthers to perform well in conference play because they feel they have something to prove in the CAA community.

     “We were the underdogs, it’s great to do the unexpected,” redshirt junior, Vineece Verdun said, “it feels good to prove people wrong.”

    Verdun acquired 16 kills, two assists, two service aces, two digs, and four blocks during the night, an effort that will hopefully help her hold onto her first place position in hitting percentage in the conference.

     Senior Ashley Jones also had 16 kills. Her 19 digs and four blocks completed her double-double.   

     Audrey Cantrell a redshirt senior earned 19 digs, putting her closer to the school record for career digs. This game put her at a total of 1,432, just 206 away from the record held by Christen Garcia.

     Delaware (12-5, 1-1 CAA) was the preseason favorite in the CAA conference ranking first in hitting percentage (.220) and digs (17.58 per set) prior to Friday’s game.

     The night’s win put Georgia State at 8-8 and 2-0 in the CAA, earning them the number one spot in the CAA rankings.

      Winning against Delaware put Georgia State at a 3-3 record in 5 set matches.

     For Delaware, Alissa Alker earned 19 kills, and Greta Gibboney 32 digs, a valiant effort, but not enough to stop the Panther momentum.

      The Blue Hens glided past the Panthers in the first two sets 25-16 and 25-18.

     During the third and fourth sets, the Panthers started made things interesting by answering every point almost immediately, not allowing the Blue Hens to get a run.

     In total, there were 22 tied scores, and 10 lead changes.

     Even after this big win, Verdun keeps perspective on what she can take from each game into the next one.

     “I learned that not every ball has to be perfect, just do your job and keep trucking, when you make a mistake, just start focusing on the next point.” Verdun said.

     The panthers will have the chance to further establish their new reputation within the CAA conference when they play George Mason in Virginia on October 8. 

   Bringing football to Georgia State has meant a lot of change and upward movement for the university.

     The GSU cheerleading team’s upward movement is a bit more literal.

      “Two-high” pyramids are allowed on the Astroturf. That is a pyramid that has three levels of cheerleaders instead of just two.

     “We have a lot more freedom of what we can do on the football field,” Brooke Svoboda, head cheerleading coach said.

     For cheerleaders following the guidelines of the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators, (AACCA) there are certain stunts that cannot be performed on a basketball court. So football for GSU cheerleaders also means that they can take their skills to the next level.

     Back-tuck basket tosses are a new skill that fans can look forward to at the football games, as well as full-twist and bird cradles.

          The GSU cheerleaders compete every year at the NCA college national competition in Daytona, Florida. The competition isn’t until April, but since the cheerleaders won a bid during their summer camp, they can start practicing now.

     “The good thing about football, is that a lot of the things that we do for competition we are able to do on the football field,” Svoboda said.

     Svoboda assures that their main focus remains with “supporting the football team,” and that they will “really kick off competition practice around October.”

     The team practices three times a week for two and a half to three hours. They also work with an athletic trainer a couple times a week for an hour. They do the same workout as the other male sports teams do.

         While most of the school’s population might not have noticed a change with the cheerleaders, this is just as much of their inaugural season as it is the football team’s.

     This is the first time GSU has ever had a co-ed and an all-girl cheerleading team as opposed to just the one co-ed team. The co-ed team is called the Blue team, and its captain is sophomore, Micah Marquette. The all-girl team is the White team, and it’s captain is senior, Candace Cliatt.

     “The first time I cheered at the Dome was for the Spring Game,” Cliatt said, “It was an extreme adrenaline rush. There has never been such a turn out for a basketball game, so it was really exciting to see so many Panther fans.”

     Cliatt aspires to be an “available, and approachable” captain, sending out encouraging text messages to her teammates after practices and bringing cookies for the entire squad.

     She makes it her concern to make sure that “both teams cooperate with each other and not feel compelled to compete against one another.”

     To promote team unity, the team goes out once or twice a month to do something fun and bond. Usually, it’s a dinner, but they’ve gone roller-skating, and there was talk about laser tag at one of their recent practices.

     Marquette, as captain of the Blue team, stands out as a leader amongst the rest of the squad.  One of his favorite parts of cheer is stunting.

      “There’s no better feeling than when you hit your stunt and nail a solid routine,” Marquette said, “It’s a huge rush.”

     Soon, non-cheerleading students will be able to experience that rush when the cheerleaders have GSU cheer day on October 16^th.  Fans will be able to come out and stunt, tumble and learn a few cheers with the cheerleaders and then perform during either pre-game or halftime.

      The GSU cheerleading team is full of passionate girls and guys who want to see their team, as well as the teams they cheer for succeed.

     “In the future, I want GSU cheerleading tryouts to be as packed as the Dome was for the first game. We have such a great team now and all I want is for upcoming Panther cheerleaders to expand on the talent and skill level so that we’ll be national champions every year at competition.” Cliatt said.

          One of Marquette’s co-captains, sophomore Courtney Marsh, said that he is “extremely driven, he doesn’t let anything stop him from what he sets his mind to and he motivates others to do the same.”

     That kind of attitude, and support from his teammates will aid Marquette in achieving his goals for the end of the year.

      “It would be nice to place top 3. It would be great to win nationals,” Marquette said.

But he keeps his priorities in order,

     “Well first, [my goal is] to put on a great routine and put on a good showing,” he said. 

     The GSU cheerleading team will continue to strive to do their part in taking Georgia State to new heights.