University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
Florida
Georgia Falls 3-0 at No. 9 Florida
October 10, 2014 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Georgia volleyball team fought hard but ultimately dropped a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-16) decision to the ninth-ranked Florida Gators on Friday, Oct. 10 at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. The Bulldogs are now 9-7 on the year and 1-3 in Southeastern Conference play. Florida improves to 11-3 on the year and 5-0 in league action.
"We had great fight and tremendous effort tonight on the defensive side," Head Coach Lizzy Stemke said. "Unfortunately we struggled to produce offensive consistency and we gave up too many runs of points. Despite the loss, we are playing better volleyball than even just a few weeks ago. We will look to manage our errors better and continue with the gritty defensive effort we have see the last few weeks."
Tirah Le'au led Georgia's offensive effort, posting 11 kills. She was one dig away from a double-double with nine, though Gaby Smiley led the Bulldogs with 10 digs. Kaylee Kehoe finished with 15 assists, while Desiree McCray led the team defensively at the net with three blocks.
Georgia matched Florida point-for-point in the opening possessions of the first set, at the teams tied four times before the Gators scored back-to-back points that put them up 6-4. Florida maintained the advantage, but the Bulldogs kept it close, never allowing Florida to amass more than a four-point lead. Trailing 15-12, Georgia got a kill by Lauren Teknipp and took advantage of a Florida error that made it a 15-14 lead. The Gators went on to score the final 10 points of the set, winning it 25-14.
Florida eased out to a 4-1 lead in the second set before an attack error and a Teknipp kill cut the lead to 4-3. With the score at 5-4, Florida went on a 4-0 run that gave it a 9-4 lead and forced Georgia to use a timeout. The Gators continued to hold the momentum, pulling out to a 20-10 lead before a kill by Kendall Kazor ended the Florida run. The Bulldogs didn't give up and continued to fight, putting together a 3-0 run that included a service error, a kill by Le'au and a Kehoe service ace that made it a 23-15 set. Florida grabbed the final two points of the set to take it 25-15 and take a 2-0 match lead.
The Bulldogs came out with a fire in the third set, opening up to a 3-0 lead. Florida answered with a 6-0 run before a service error broke the serve and made it a 6-4 set. The Bulldogs kept the set close over the next several possessions, staying within striking distance of the Gators, eventually making a one-point set on a service ace by Amanda Dachs. With Florida holding a 16-11 lead, the Bulldogs got a pair of points on a McCray block and a Gator error that cut the lead to 16-13. Georgia was able to score three more points in the set, but the Gators came away with the 25-16 set three win that sealed their 3-0 match win.
Georgia returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 12 when it continues its road swing with a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 2:30 p.m. ET. The match will be available on the SEC Network+.
