We're counting down to the start of the 2017 NCAA beach volleyball season by previewing one of the nation's top programs every day for the next two weeks.

Yesterday, we highlighted the Loyola Marymount squad, and today it's all about the Georgia State Panthers.

In Short

Georgia State's beach volleyball team has been represented in the postseason in three out of the four years since the school added a program in 2012. Don't expect this East Coast powerhouse to slow down anytime soon.

Last Season

26-10 overall, 6-4 in the CCSA
Runner-up in CCSA Championship
NCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament Participant

The Players

Returning Stars

Brooke Weiner | 5-foot-11 | Sophomore | Ventura, California
Sarah Agnew | 5-8 | Senior | Coppell, Texas
Delaney Rohan | 5-10 | Senior | Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Natalie Wilson | 5-10  | Senior | Plymouth, Minnesota
Jessica Fourspring | 5-11 | Senior | Greer, South Carolina

Key Newcomers

Haley Pa'akaula | 5-11 | Grad Student | Honolulu, Hawaii
Chelsea Ross | 5-10 | Grad Student | Murfreesboro Tennessee
LeeAnn Starr | 5-9 | Freshman | Cincinnati, Ohio
Georgia Johnson | 5-11 | Freshman | Brisbane, Queensland

Biggest Losses

Jansen Button | 5-7 | Menifee, California
Sara Olivova | 5-11 | Franklin, Michigan
Milani Pickering | 5-8 | Mesa, Arizona
Katelyn Rawls | 5-11 | Wellington, Florida
Nina Interwies | 5-6 | Gammelby, Germany

Opening Weekend Matches

March 4

10 AM ET vs. UNCW at UNF
1:30 PM ET vs. College of Charleston at UNF

March 5

9:30 AM ET at UNF
12:30 PM ET vs. Spring Hill at UNF

Overview

Georgia State has been one of the top East Coast programs in college beach volleyball since the addition of the sport to the Panthers athletic department in 2012. In November, the current squad played the Collegiate Beach Bash, a fall tournament at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Georgia, going 30-26 overall.

The top team for the 2016 season, Jansen Button and Sara Olivova both graduated, but there's plenty of new talent on the roster ready to step up in 2017. Brooke Weiner and Chelsea Ross played at the No. 1 spot at the Beach Bash, going 1-3 and showing promise with Ross putting away some of the hardest hits in the entire competition.

In addition to Ross, who came to Georgia State as a grad student after completing her bachelor's degree at Middle Tennessee State University, the crop of newcomers for the Panthers includes Haley Pa'akaula, a Hawaii native and grad student transfer from Towson, and freshmen LeeAnn Starr, a Cincinnati native who has qualified for the main draw in the NVL and AVP,  and Georgia Johnson, who has competed for Australia in various international beach tournaments.