University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Pepperdine
Georgia Volleyball Falls To Pepperdine, 3-1
September 03, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2011
MALIBU, Calif. - The University of Georgia volleyball team dropped its opening match of the Pepperdine Asics Classic, 3-1, to the host Waves on Friday night at the Firestone Fieldhouse.
Georgia (2-2) played well in the opening set winning it 25-19 to take an early lead in the match, but Pepperdine (2-1) rallied to win the next three sets 25-18, 25-18 and 25-13.
"In set one we were more disciplined than we've seen on the court so far, and we had moments of resiliency," Georgia head coach Lizzy Stemke said. "The remainder of the match they did a good job of putting pressure on us, and we struggled with discipline at times and Pepperdine was able to get on some runs."
In the opening set, Georgia outhit Pepperdine .414 to .214 as sophomore outside hitter Brittany Northcutt and senior middle blockers Ann Dylla and Elizabeth Reid recorded four kills apiece. Northcutt went on to lead the Bulldogs in kills for the match with 14 on a .314 hitting percentage.
"We played pretty well in the first game," Northcutt said. "That was definitely the best I've ever seen us play. I think we kind of relaxed and got too calm after that game."
Pepperdine comeback over the next three sets led to the Waves leading the match overall on both sides of the net statistically. Offensively, Pepperdine finished with 59 kills on a .312 clip compared to Georgia's 46 kills at .225. Defensively, the Waves had 57 digs and 10.0 blocks while the Bulldogs tallied 42 digs and 6.0 blocks.
Katie Messing and Kim Hill led Pepperdine's attack with 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
"We definitely made progress as a team tonight," Stemke added. "We are looking forward to taking the positives towards the matches tomorrow."
Georgia returns to action in the Pepperdine Asics Classic with two matches on Saturday. The Bulldogs face Miami (4-0) at 1 p.m. ET and UC Santa Barbara (1-3) at 8 p.m. Live stats are available on www.pepperdinesports.com.
Pepperdine Asics Classic Results & Remaining Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 2:
Miami def, UC Santa Barbara, 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-22)
Pepperdine def. Georgia, 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-13)
Saturday, Sept. 3:
1 p.m. - Georgia vs. Miami
3:30 p.m. - Pepperdine vs. UC Santa Barbara
8 p.m. - Georgia vs. UC Santa Barbara
10:30 p.m. - Pepperdine vs. Miami
