University of Georgia
South Carolina
Georgia Downs South Carolina, 3-0
September 30, 2011 | Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2011
ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia volleyball team posted a season-high hitting percentage of .393 en route to earning a Southeastern Conference victory over South Carolina, 3-0, on Friday evening in front of a season-best Ramsey Student Center crowd of 1,062.
Georgia (6-9, 2-3 SEC) recorded the .393 hitting percentage with 54 kills on 112 attacks with just 10 errors while South Carolina (9-5, 0-4 SEC) hit .327 with 42 kills as UGA won all three sets with identical scores of 25-21.
Three Bulldogs notched season-best hitting percentages with redshirt sophomore Kathleen Luft tallying a match-best 13 kills on a .324 mark, senior middle blocker Ann Dylla providing 10 kills on a .500 clip and junior right side hitter Briana Bahr chipping in nine kills on a .533 mark.
"It was a great win for us," Dylla said. "We worked on our fight all week in practice, and I think that we showed a lot of fight in this match. We were able to come out and win in three sets against a solid team and I think that we showed a lot of maturity."
Also contributing to the Bulldogs' season-best offensive performance were sophomore outside hitter Brittany Northcutt and senior setter Kathleen Gates. Northcutt recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 kills on a .417 clip to go along with 10 digs while Gates paced the offense to the tune of 47 assists. Defensively, Georgia was led by sophomore libero Allison Summers' 12 digs.
"I think from what we have seen the last few weeks in practice, we are definitely on an upward swing," Georgia head coach Lizzy Stemke said. "I think the team is starting to believe that when you fight, good things happen. It is a long season, and I want that to be a continuous message as we work out different kinks in our game."
The opening set was tightly contested from the beginning consisting of three lead changes and 15 ties. Georgia grabbed its first lead at 7-6 following a kill from Luft and an ace from Summers. Points were traded between the teams before the Gamecocks took a two-point lead at 18-16. The Bulldogs stayed aggressive going on a 9-3 run to close the set with a 25-21 win.
The second set started out much the same as set one with the two teams trading points. Georgia put up six unanswered points after two USC errors and a block from senior Elizabeth Reid to pull ahead 10-5. The Gamecocks brought it back to a one-point deficit at 11-10 before back-to-back kills from Northcutt helped spring Georgia to a 15-11 lead. USC got it close again at 17-16, but Gates won the battle at the net and earned a kill to keep the lead. Georgia held on the rest of the contest, and three Dylla kills finished off the set at 25-21.
USC took control early in the third set. After Georgia scored the first point, the Gamecocks put up five straight to lead 5-1 heading into a Georgia timeout. The Bulldogs stayed on the attack and never let the USC lead get larger than five. Behind a great team effort, the Bulldogs put together a 10-3 scoring spree that included multiple kills from Gates and Luft to go ahead 21-19. Then with the set tied at 21, four-straight points capped off by a Luft ace gave the Bulldogs with the victory at 25-21.
Up next, Georgia will play host to 13th-ranked Florida (9-3, 1-2 SEC) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Admission is free and Sunday's match will be Georgia volleyball Carnival Day with games for kids and a balloon artist. The first 250 kids to the match will receive Silly Bandz and the first 300 fans will receive Rally Towels. Following Sunday's match, there will be an autograph session with the Bulldogs in addition to the second Spikes Tykes event.
Free live video and live stats will be available through GTV on www.georgiadogs.com, and the UGA-UF match will also be available on local radio on 960 AM.
