University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldog Volleyball Edges South Carolina In Five Games
October 20, 2007 | Volleyball
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 ATHENS, Ga --- Four Bulldogs recorded double-doubles to help the Georgia volleyball team (14-7, 5-6 SEC) edge South Carolina (9-11, 2-9 SEC) on Friday night by a score of 3-2 (23-30, 30-25, 34-32, 25-30, 16-14) at the Ramsey Center as the teams opened up the second half of the Southeastern Conference schedule.
With the match tied at 2-2 and the fifth game tied at 14-14, kills from freshman outside hitter Erika Clark and junior outside hitter Maria Taylor provided the Bulldogs with a 16-14 win in the fifth game to take contest.
"It certainly was a battle," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. "That's probably the best explanation for it. It was one of those matches that it seemed like it was going to come down to the wire, and it did. I don't think that either team necessarily played exceptional volleyball, but it's good to get a win out of this especially on our home floor. I really feel like it could have gone the other direction."
Taylor and Clark, along with junior setter Mara Martin and freshman middle hitter Britta Buethe, all posted double-double performances for the Bulldogs. Taylor posted a team-best 25 kills and 15 digs for her eighth double-double of the season, while Clark notched 13 kills and 16 digs to achieve the feat for a sixth time. Martin paced the Georgia offense with 53 assists and contributed 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. Buethe recorded her team-leading ninth double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs.
"I think it means a lot to win this match," Taylor said. "I know that South Carolina was lower in the SEC, but it just goes to show you that every time you play a SEC match you have to come out strong. I think it's a testament to our team because we've been winning in five a lot, but it's important to see that we have the endurance win in five."
Also providing the Bulldogs with solid performances, were freshman middle hitters Lindsay Gehan and Valentina Gonzalez. Gehan provided 13 kills on a .346 hitting percentage, while Gonzalez led UGA's blocking efforts with seven blocks. Taylor also added six blocks, while Gehan contributed five.
South Carolina outhit Georgia in the match with .208 hitting percentage compared to the Bulldogs mark of .188, but UGA hit a .192 clip in the fifth game while limiting USC to a .033 mark. The match featured a total of 38 ties and 17 lead changes.
Three South Carolina players also recorded double-doubles. Sophomore Ivana Kujundzic had a match-best 26 kills to go along with 14 digs, freshman Hannah Lawing had 11 kills and 11 digs and junior Petra Lorenzi provided 45 assists and 12 digs.
The first game of the match went to the Gamecocks 30-23 behind a hitting percentage of .400, but the Bulldogs evened the contest at 1-1 with a 30-25 game two win.
The third game saw 12 ties and was knotted at 32-32 before kills from Clark and Buethe gave the Bulldogs the game victory at 34-32.
South Carolina bounced back in the fourth game building a lead by as many as eight on two occasions en route to evening the match at 2-2 with a 30-25 game four win.
The fifth game then had a total of 13 ties including the one at 14-14 before Clark and Taylor hit the deciding kills in the match.
Georgia will take on the No. 10-ranked Florida Gators (17-1, 10-1) on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET at the Ramsey Center. Florida defeated Auburn 3-1 (30-24, 29-31, 30-17, 30-21) on Friday night in Auburn, Ala. Live stats for the match with the Gators will be available on georgiadogs.com, and GXtra subscribers can also log on for live video of the match. GXtra is the official premium online service of the Georgia Bulldogs.


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