University of Georgia
Wake Forest
Georgia Volleyball Wins Deacon Invitational
August 28, 2010 | Volleyball
Aug. 28, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The University of Georgia volleyball team beat Wake Forest, 3-1, on Saturday evening to win the 2010 Deacon Invitational.
The Bulldogs earned the victory over the Demon Deacons with set scores of 25-15, 25-21, 26-28 and 25-23. Georgia won the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record while Wake Forest finished runner-up at 2-1, East Tennessee State took third at 1-2 and Coastal Carolina went 0-3.
"I am really pleased with the performance this weekend and excited for the girls to win this thing," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. "Things got pretty tight towards the end of this match in the third and especially the forth sets, but we managed to put the nerves on hold long enough to accomplish our goal of winning this event."
The UGA-Wake Forest championship match was closely contested with 47 ties and 16 lead changes. The Bulldogs recorded 56 kills on a .262 hitting percentage, 56 digs and 12.0 team blocks while the Demon Deacons had 54 kills at a .182 mark, 56 digs and 10.0 team blocks. A key difference came on attack errors where Georgia had just 19 compared to Wake Forest's 27.
Junior middle hitter Ann Dylla led the Bulldogs in kills for the second time in the tournament with 16 on a .353 clip, and her effort was supported by 15 kills from freshman outside hitter Brittany Northcutt and 11 kills from senior Valentina Gonzalez. Northcutt narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs while junior libero Carla Tietz paced the defense with 12 digs.
"Carla and Ann both produced well for us in their respective roles this weekend, but I was most pleased with the leadership they each provided," McCartney said. "More great play from Brit provided a lot of fire power towards the end when we needed terminations, and it was quite fitting that she ended the match with the ace."
Tietz was named the tournament's most valuable player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Dylla. Tietz finished the Invitational with 37 digs and four aces, and Dylla provided the Bulldogs with a team-best 33 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go along with a team-best 18 blocks.
Georgia returns to action on Sept. 3-4 with four matches in the Northern Colorado Classic. On Friday, Sept. 3, the Bulldogs will face the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Fairfield, and on Saturday, Sept. 4, UGA will play South Dakota and tournament host Northern Colorado.
Match Notes:
· All-Tournament Team: Tietz was named the Deacon Invitational MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Dylla.
· Georgia played Wake Forest for the first time since 1985 and with the win improved to 3-0 all-time against the Demon Deacons.
· Dylla's 16 kills vs. Wake Forest were one kill shy of her career-high 17 (vs. Arkansas, 11/22/09)
· Georgia finished the three-match tournament hitting a .254 while limiting opponents to a .121 mark.
2010 Deacon Invitational Results:
Friday, Aug. 27:
Georgia def. East Tennessee, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-12)
Wake Forest def. Coastal Carolina, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-11, 29-27)
Saturday, Aug. 28:
Georgia def. Coastal Carolina, 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-17)
Wake Forest def. East Tennessee State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-21)
East Tennessee State def. Coastal Carolina, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18)
Georgia def. Wake Forest, 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 26-28, 25-23)
2010 Deacon Invitational All-Tournament Team:
MVP: Carla Tietz, Georgia
Ann Dylla, Georgia
Kadija Fornah, Wake Forest
Andrea Beck, Wake Forest
Whitney Cogburn, ETSU
Meghan Laffin, Coastal Carolina
