University of Georgia Athletics
Gates Named SEC Offensive Player Of The Week
September 27, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Georgia junior setter Kathleen Gates has been named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week according to an announcement made by the league on Monday.
Gates, a native of Wilmington, N.C., helped Georgia upset 20th-ranked Tennessee, 3-2, this past Friday. It marked the Bulldogs' first win over a ranked opponent since beating an eighth-ranked Florida team on Oct. 26, 2008, and Gates aided the Dogs win over the Lady Vols by providing her fourth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 10 digs.
Against 24th-ranked Kentucky on Sunday, Gates provided her team-leading fifth double-double by tying her season high with 55 assists while adding 11 digs. Additionally, Gates added 10 kills on a .375 clip and seven blocks over the weekend.
"KG was amazing this weekend," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. "She played nearly flawless in the Tennessee match and showed great poise and leadership with her setting decisions. Our team coming out this past weekend and playing with such great energy was largely due to her influence on the court. When KG is able to better the out of system first touch and place it back into the attacker's range, it alleviates a lot of pressure for our offense. A testament to her leadership can be found in the disappointment and personal responsibility she felt in the Kentucky loss. Although she played another brilliant match, it took just minutes for KG to begin analyzing and critiquing her decision making. She is a true perfectionist and a complete joy to have in our program."
Gates' 100 assists in this past weekend's two matches raised her career assist total to 2,734, which moved her up one spot on the all-time charts at UGA to sixth.
The SEC Offensive Player of the Week honor is the first of Gates' career, and the first by a Bulldog since Ann Dylla earned the honor on Oct. 27 of last season. It also marks the second time Gates has earned a weekly honor by the conference having been named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Oct. 27, 2008.
Gates and the Bulldogs return to action this weekend at the Ramsey Student Center. Georgia (9-6, 1-3 SEC) will play Alabama (8-5, 0-3 SEC) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, and on Sunday, UGA will square off against Mississippi State (9-5, 1-2 SEC) at 1 p.m. The UGA-MSU match will be televised by FSN.
