Smiley Looking To Make More Memories
October 15, 2014 | Volleyball
By SK Bowen
Adrenaline pumped through everyone's veins: the players, the coaches, the fans. The Kentucky coach was especially sweating. The No. 15 Wildcats were ahead of the unranked Georgia Bulldogs, but not by much.
"We had played a number of ranked opponents that year," head coach Lizzy Stemke recalled. "But we had only played well in spurts. We hadn't played a complete game until that match."
On the bench sat 5-9 Gaby Smiley, cheering on the team with all her strength. When all of a sudden, Smiley heard her number called to go in the game. A spike of nervousness shot through her body, but confidence quickly overrode the feeling of nervousness. Smiley knew she could handle it. She had done it before.
"I was not expecting to play in that match honestly," Smiley said. "It's really hard going in there cold, especially to go in and pass and help the team out. But you have to go in whenever you're name is called. I felt nervous at first but I was confident in myself because I had been in that situation before."
That match would turn out to be the "most memorable match of (Smiley's) career."
In the final set, Georgia trailed 12-7 but fought back to tie the set at 13. The teams then went point-for-point over the next 17 possessions, which resulted in nine match points before a kill by Stacey Smith sealed Georgia's 3-2 win.
"Beating a team that was ranked higher than us was one of the best feelings that I've had ever since I've been at UGA," Smiley said. "It showed that we were a team that can come from behind and win."
"Gaby gave us a huge edge in that match. She made a major difference," added Stemke.
This year the Bulldogs face a nationally ranked Kentucky team again on their home court, but Smiley won't be sitting on the bench. She has proven herself as a leader to her coach and team. Smiley not only wears the libero jersey, but also holds the position as team captain.
So how will this year's Bulldogs match up against the Wildcats?
Before last year, Georgia had not defeated Kentucky since 2004. The Bulldogs also graduated four key players. Despite this, both Stemke and Smiley show optimism towards this year's matchup.
"We are a totally different team from last year and UK is a completely different team," Stemke said. "We always match up really well with Kentucky in all aspects of the game. We just need to be very disciplined with our block and we need to make sure we keep the ball live."
"I think, personally, that the team we have this year is just as capable if not more capable than last year's team," Smiley confidently stated. "We are super competitive and have been in tight situations all throughout the year. We just need to be confident in ourselves knowing that we have prepared to fight a highly ranked team and put it all out there on the court. There is nothing to lose and all we can do is prove everyone wrong by showing them we can still go out there and beat a ranked team."
Georgia has a chance to repeat history against Kentucky this Friday, October 17, in the Ramsey Center at 7 p.m. This season, Georgia is averaging nearly 1,000 fans per game and five of Georgia's nine wins have come from the Bulldogs' home court.
"It's absolutely an uplifting feeling having the crowd behind us," Stemke says. "We have appreciated all of the support and we hope it continues because it's a really fun environment. UGA can be a hard place to play when the fans come out."
SK Bowen in sophomore from Tifton, Ga., who is majoring in digital and broadcast journalism and marketing. She also is in her first year as a student assistant with the UGA Sports Communications office. "Coming Attractions" is a weekly feature published on georgiadogs.com spotlighting a UGA student-athlete who will be competing in a key home event during the upcoming weekend. Previous stories include:
August 28 - David Andrews (football vs. Clemson) September 4 - Carly Hamilton (cross country in Bulldog Invitational)
September 11 - Tirah Leau (volleyball in Benson Hospitality Invitational)
September 18 - Mariel Gutierrez (soccer vs. Vanderbilt) September 25 - Toby Johnson (football vs. Tennessee)
October 2 - Emma Sonnett (soccer vs. Tennessee) October 9 - Jared Markham (swimming & diving vs. Alabama)
