University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Southern Miss
Georgia Defeats Southern Miss, Alabama A&M
September 20, 2014 | Volleyball
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Georgia volleyball team completed a perfect weekend with a pair of wins over Southern Miss and Alabama A&M at the Georgia Tech Volleyball Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. The Bulldogs handed Southern Miss a 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24) loss in the first match of the day before defeating Alabama A&M 3-0 (25-7, 25-12, 25-13) in the finale. With the wins, the Bulldogs took home the Georgia Tech Volleyball Invitational title. Georgia is now 8-4 on the year.
"This was a very consistent weekend for our team," Head Coach Lizzy Stemke said. "We had great effort offensively and defensively. We had a handful of players share the load this weekend and got stronger every time we headed to the court. We will now start looking forward to SEC play and what beter way to kick off conference play than with a televised midweek match in Stegeman Coliseum!"
Georgia 3, Southern Miss 1
Georgia took a 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24) win against Southern Miss in the first match of the day.
For the second match in a row, Georgia had three players in double-digit kills. Amanda Dachs, Tirah Le'au and Lauren Teknipp each finished with 10 kills. Le'au led the way with a .321 efficiency. Kaylee Kehoe paced the offense with 36 assists. Le'au finished with a team-best 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Desiree McCray was a force at the net, tallying a team-best 12 blocks. Jasmine Eatmon and Teknipp added six blocks each.
The first set was tight from first serve, as the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles tied six times before Teknipp and McCray teamed up for a block that gave Georgia a 7-6 lead. With Georgia holding a 10-8 advantage, Southern Miss strung together three-straight point to take an 11-10 lead. Dachs ended the run with a kill. The score knotted three times before Southern Miss took a 16-14 lead, which forced Georgia to use a timeout. The Bulldogs fought back to tie the set at 17, causing Southern Miss to use a timeout. With Southern Miss holding a 23-21 lead, the Bulldogs put together at 3-0 run that gave Georgia a 24-23 edge Georgia went on to score two of the final three points, including the set winner on a block by Dachs and McCray, to take the first set 26-24.
Georgia opened up to a 6-3 lead in the second set, but a 3-0 run gave Southern Miss an 8-7 lead. The Golden Eagles held the advantage until McCray found the court for a kill that sparked a 3-0 Georgia run that gave the Bulldogs a 13-12 lead. Georgia did not trail for the remainder of the set, going on to take it 25-22.
After dropping the third set 25-21, Georgia bounced back with a 26-24 win in the fourth set that sealed the 3-1 match win. The hard-fought affair continued into the fourth set, as neither team was able to take control until a block by Teknipp and McCray gave the Bulldogs a 9-7 lead. Georgia and Southern Miss went point-for-point until back-to-back kills by the Golden Eagles forced Georgia to use a timeout. Out of the break, Georgia scored three of the next four points to tie the set at 17, causing Southern Miss to burn a timeout. The teams tied five more times before an attack error by the Golden Eagles gave Georgia match point. Georgia scored two of the final three points, including the match-winner on a block by Dachs and McCray, to take the win.
Georgia 3, Alabama A&M 0
Teknipp led the Bulldogs to a 3-0 (25-7, 25-12, 25-13) win over Alabama A&M in the final match of the weekend. She finished with a team-best 11 kills and a dominating .588 efficiency. Dachs also finished in double figures, tallying 10 kills and hitting at a .474 clip. The Bulldogs were nothing short of brilliant offensively, as five players hit over .450 for the match, while the team notched a .512 efficiency. Kehoe again led the team with 21 assists, while Gaby Smiley finished with a team-best nine digs.
Georgia raced out to an 8-3 lead and never looked back. Alabama A&M made it a five-point set at 11-6, but a service error sparked an 11-0 run that forced the Lady Bulldogs to use both timeouts as Georgia marched to a 21-6. Georgia allowed just one more point as the Bulldogs used the serve of Le'au to score the final three points and take the first set 25-7.
The Bulldogs opened the second set on a 7-3 run, but a kill by A&M made it a two-point set at 8-6. The set remained close until Georgia was able to pull away on the serve of Kendall Kazor that saw the Bulldogs take a 15-10 lead. Alabama A&M scored just two more points, while Georgia scored the final six points of the set, including the final two on aces by Eatmon, to win it 25-12 and take a 2-0 lead in the match
Holding a 2-0 lead in the match, the dominating offensive attack continued for Georgia. The Bulldogs opened to a 7-3 lead and never looked back. The Bulldogs maintained their lead with the help of Kehoe, who served six-straight points that helped put Georgia up 17-8. Alabama A&M looked to take some of the momentum back, scoring three-straight, but a Teknipp kill ended the run at 19-11. Georgia scored six of the final eight points, including each of the last four points, to take the set 25-13 and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Georgia opens up its Southeastern Conference slate on Wednesday, September 29 at 7 p.m., when it hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC Network televised match in Stegeman Coliseum.
