University of Georgia Athletics
Volleyball Passes Opening Tests
August 30, 2015 | Volleyball
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By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
ATHENS, Ga. -- Consider this weekend a succession of tests for the Georgia volleyball team. The Bulldogs passed.
The Dogs opened their season with the Benson Hospitality Invitational at the Ramsey Center, playing a game Friday night and twice Saturday. It was a trio of games -- and three wins -- in about 26 hours. A coach can learn a lot about her team when it faces that kind of physical and mental challenge to start a season.
"We're able to take the grittiness, the fight and the execution that we've been working on in the gym and see it translate," said coach Lizzy Stemke, who is beginning her fifth season with the Dogs. "We can see what we need to be working on further and what our strengths are, and how we can expose them more frequently."
After a demanding preseason there is still a lot for Stemke and the Dogs to learn, about who they are and what kind of team Georgia can be. Not only do the Dogs have seven freshmen on the roster, there are also five sophomores. Jasmine Eatmon is the squad's only senior.
"I think as a team we learned how to compose ourselves," said Eatmon, a redshirt senior who had four blocks against the Tigers. "I think we were able to fight through ups and downs, whether we were winning or losing. We came back and fought and fought, and that's really exciting for such a young team."
Of the 16 players on Georgia's roster, nine had taken the court for the Dogs before Friday. But of those nine, only Eatmon (27 starts), redshirt sophomore Amanda Dachs (24) and redshirt junior Desiree McCray (started all 31 games) were fixtures in the lineup last season, when the Dogs went 14-17.
For many, like sophomore Kendall Kazor, who started twice last season and played in 23 games, the 2015 season brings with it a new role.
"I'm still a baby, I'm still a sophomore, so it's weird saying I'm a veteran, but we are a really young team," Kazor said after finishing with 30 assists against Memphis. "It's a completely different feeling being here the second time around. It's a different feeling and I have a lot more confidence."
Georgia opened its season Friday with a 3-1 win over Wofford and it began Saturday by sweeping High Point. The nightcap against Memphis figured to be a tougher test, and throughout the first two sets it was.
In the first set, Georgia trailed 20-16 before going on a 9-3 run to capture the set 25-23. The Bulldogs finished the second set equally well, going from tied at 21 to winning the set 25-22. In the third, Georgia built a multi-point lead midway through the set and maintained it, winning 25-19.
It was good defense and composure, Stemke said, that w the difference when things were tight.
"I learned that our defense can take over matches," she said. "We have got a lot of composure at the end of matches to fly after balls, touch things at the net and that's a real momentum lifter for our counter-attack."
Another strong sign for the Dogs was their defense and ability to extend and win points. Nearly every long, back-and-forth point went Georgia's way
"We felt like if we could continue to keep the pressure on by keeping the ball off the court on our side and just keep that pressure on and keep that pressure on, that we could put ourselves in a really good spot," Stemke said. "That's frustrating for a team, to take big swings and to move the ball around and see that every area of the court is being covered."
The Bulldogs return to action at home Thursday in the Georgia Challenge, against Georgia Southern. The in-state matchups continue Friday against Mercer and Georgia Tech.
John Frierson is a staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Hall of Fame at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. You can follow him on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
