University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Volleyball Comes Up Short Against Kentucky
November 12, 2006 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. --- Despite a game-three rally, Georgia volleyball fell to Kentucky 3-0 (30-11, 30-17, 30-26) at the Ramsey Center on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs’ second loss of the season to the Wildcats wrapped up their home Southeastern Conference schedule.
The Bulldogs (6-22, 2-16 SEC) recorded 26 kills in the match and hit at a .020 clip, while Kentucky (17-9, 10-8) had 49 kills to go along with a .287 hitting percentage. Following the match, Georgia head coach Steffi Legall said she was impressed with the play of freshmen Sam Lum and Katie Winschel, who played libero for the first time this season.
“Sam and Katie gave us a lift on defense and in our service game today,” said Legall. “Our passing really struggled in the first game and I think they took us out of our game early in the match and controlled the tempo. But Sam and Katie added some stability to our passing when they were on the court.”
Sophomore Maria Taylor led Georgia in kills with 10 while also recording seven digs. Junior Chelsea Young dished out 18 assists for the Bulldogs and added seven digs for the Bulldogs. In addition, junior Brooke Burlingame topped the team with eight digs and Lum added six.
Kentucky setter Sarah Rumely had a match-high 36 assists to go along with five kills and five service aces. Ashlee Fisher led the Wildcats in kills with 10 and Jenni Casper grabbed 10 digs to top the Kentucky squad.
Kentucky dominated game one, only allowing Georgia 11 points. The Wildcats extended a 6-5 lead to an 18-5 advantage on an early 12-0 run. They closed out the opening game with a .433 hitting percentage to a negative Georgia hitting clip.
Georgia also fell behind early in game two. The Bulldogs managed several short runs during the middle portion of the game, but eventually succumbed to Kentucky 30-17.
The Bulldogs battled in game three, staying within three points of the Wildcats for most of the game. But Kentucky broke away at the end and grabbed a 30-26 win to close the match.
“We made some changes in the third game and I felt like our passing got better than it had been and we were also giving more effort on defense than we had been giving, which put our bodies in a better position to dig,” Legall said. “I think we are missing the experience of how to close out matches since we are so young.”
Georgia returns to the road to face South Carolina on Friday, Nov. 17 and Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 19. The Bulldogs’ final home match of the season arrives on Friday, Nov. 24 against Winthrop.
