University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Volleyball Posts 3-2 Comeback Win Over Houston
September 12, 2008 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas --- The Georgia volleyball team posted a 3-2 comeback win over the Houston Cougars in the opening match of the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational at Gregory Gym on Thursday.
“We beat a very tough Houston team today when most everyone in the state of Texas had counted us out of the match,” Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. “Young teams can sometimes step up from behind and take you out and that is exactly what we accomplished in this match. We took a step back yesterday but grew a lot today.”
Georgia (6-3) won the first set 25-22, but Houston (3-4) won the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-17, to go up 2-1 in the match. The Bulldogs trailed the entire third set and most of the fourth set before rallying to force a decisive fifth set. Down by six at 18-12 in the fourth set, Georgia sophomores Erika Clark and Lindsay Gehan combined for seven points on kills to pull the Bulldogs within two at 21-19. Then, two team blocks and three kills from senior Maria Taylor completed a 25-23 comeback in the fourth set to even the match at 2-2.
With momentum in hand, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the fifth set and carried the lead throughout going on to take the set, 15-9, for the match victory.
Clark and Taylor both posted double-doubles for the Bulldogs, while Gehan also contributed a solid outing. Clark paced the Bulldogs with a career-best 17 kills to go along 20 digs for her third double-double of the year. Taylor added 16 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double, and Gehan contributed a season-high 14 kills, one kill shy of her career-best. Freshman Kathleen Gates set the table for the Bulldogs with 51 assists, her second-best mark this season.
In a closely contested first set, Georgia came out on top 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Neither team led by more than three points in the set, which also featured 13 ties. Houston held its three-point lead at the beginning of the match at 3-0, while Georgia twice had a three point edge. The Bulldogs led at 15-12, and then after the match was tied at 22-22, they scored the final three points to close the set.
The second set was also a very closely contested battle, but the Cougars evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 win. After Houston opened the set on a 6-1 run, Georgia climbed back to tied the match at 14-14. From there, every other point would bring the match back to a tie as neither team lead by more than one until Houston scored two straight points out of a 21-21 tie. Georgia got back to within one twice before the set was ended by Houston.
Houston would go up 3-0 to start the third set and lead throughout the set. The Cougars led by as many as nine before taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-17 third-set win.
The Cougars continued to hold on to the lead until a 22-22 tie in the fourth set, and they regained the edge momentarily at 23-22, but Georgia scored the final three points to take the set. Georgia held on to the lead from 24-23 until the end of the match with the 15-9 win in the fifth-set.
On Friday, Georgia will play two more matches in the Texas Invitational. At 11 a.m. ET, Georgia will face Texas State, and at 7:30 p.m. the Bulldogs will square off against the host and third-ranked Longhorns.
“We beat a very tough Houston team today when most everyone in the state of Texas had counted us out of the match,” Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. “Young teams can sometimes step up from behind and take you out and that is exactly what we accomplished in this match. We took a step back yesterday but grew a lot today.”
Georgia (6-3) won the first set 25-22, but Houston (3-4) won the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-17, to go up 2-1 in the match. The Bulldogs trailed the entire third set and most of the fourth set before rallying to force a decisive fifth set. Down by six at 18-12 in the fourth set, Georgia sophomores Erika Clark and Lindsay Gehan combined for seven points on kills to pull the Bulldogs within two at 21-19. Then, two team blocks and three kills from senior Maria Taylor completed a 25-23 comeback in the fourth set to even the match at 2-2.
With momentum in hand, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the fifth set and carried the lead throughout going on to take the set, 15-9, for the match victory.
Clark and Taylor both posted double-doubles for the Bulldogs, while Gehan also contributed a solid outing. Clark paced the Bulldogs with a career-best 17 kills to go along 20 digs for her third double-double of the year. Taylor added 16 kills and 13 digs for her fifth double-double, and Gehan contributed a season-high 14 kills, one kill shy of her career-best. Freshman Kathleen Gates set the table for the Bulldogs with 51 assists, her second-best mark this season.
In a closely contested first set, Georgia came out on top 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Neither team led by more than three points in the set, which also featured 13 ties. Houston held its three-point lead at the beginning of the match at 3-0, while Georgia twice had a three point edge. The Bulldogs led at 15-12, and then after the match was tied at 22-22, they scored the final three points to close the set.
The second set was also a very closely contested battle, but the Cougars evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 win. After Houston opened the set on a 6-1 run, Georgia climbed back to tied the match at 14-14. From there, every other point would bring the match back to a tie as neither team lead by more than one until Houston scored two straight points out of a 21-21 tie. Georgia got back to within one twice before the set was ended by Houston.
Houston would go up 3-0 to start the third set and lead throughout the set. The Cougars led by as many as nine before taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-17 third-set win.
The Cougars continued to hold on to the lead until a 22-22 tie in the fourth set, and they regained the edge momentarily at 23-22, but Georgia scored the final three points to take the set. Georgia held on to the lead from 24-23 until the end of the match with the 15-9 win in the fifth-set.
On Friday, Georgia will play two more matches in the Texas Invitational. At 11 a.m. ET, Georgia will face Texas State, and at 7:30 p.m. the Bulldogs will square off against the host and third-ranked Longhorns.
Georgia Volleyball vs LSU - Postgame Recap
Wednesday, November 12
Georgia Volleyball vs. Auburn Postgame Recap
Sunday, November 02
Georgia Volleyball vs Vanderbilt Video Recap
Saturday, October 25
Georgia Volleyball vs Mississippi State - Postgame Recap
Sunday, October 19