VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Lander volleyball team kicked off the Ashley Stathas Era with a 2-0 start Friday afternoon when the Bearcats downed Albany State (3-2) and Coastal College of Georgia (3-1) in the Valdosta State Invitational. The tournament will conclude on Saturday.

Lander downed Albany State, 25-21, 25-22, 14-25, 22-25, 15-10, then beat Coastal College of Georgia, 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-19.

Against Albany State, Kiki Hennessey, Jessica Register and Kaitlyn Harrison paced the Bearcats with double doubles. Hennessey had 17 kills and 14 digs, while Register tallied 50 assists and 14 digs, and Harrison 14 kills and 11 digs. Tarryn Angermeier added a team-high 20 kills. Sarah Bradley and Madison Kubal had 22 and 19 digs respectively.

Albany State was led by Ashley Johnson (30 kills, 24 digs), Sharme Ridley (20 kills, 20 digs), Jillian Anderson (10 kills), Jennifer Johnson (59 assists, 16 digs), Adrienne Morris (32 digs), and Jennifer Evans (11 digs).

Against Coastal Georgia, Register and Harrison posted double doubles to lead Lander. Register had 43 assists and 12 digs, while Harrison totaled 13 kills and 11 digs. Angermeier added 13 kills, Kaitlyn Peperone 11 kills, Hennessey nine kills and 13 digs, Kubal 19 digs, and Bradley 11 digs.

Coastal Georgia was led by Lindsay Herman (17 kills, 11 digs), Holly Hammer (28 assists, 11 digs), Maggie Bee (15 assists), Kansas Robison (19 digs), and Kara Neison (14 digs).