University of Georgia
Arkansas
Georgia Drops Heartbreaker to Arkansas 3-2
November 09, 2014 | Volleyball
Be sure to watch these Sunday Volleyball highlights as well as an interview with Lizzy Stemke.
Nov. 9, 2014
ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-13, 9-15) decision to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday, Nov. 9 at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Ga. The Bulldogs fall to an 11-14 overall record, including a 3-10 mark in the Southeastern Conference, while the Razorbacks leave the match with a 13-13 season record and a 7-6 mark in the SEC.
"We talked a lot about going into this match with trying to have all of our attacker's hitting efficiency at .200 and above and we almost got there," said Head Coach Lizzy Stemke. "Our offense was really sharp and we did some really nice things."
Tirah Le'au and Jasmine Eatmon both had standout offensive performances both leading the team with sixteen kills. Not only did both players lead in kills, but both hit at an exceptional efficiency with Le'au at .308 and Eatmon at .519. Gaby Smiley controlled the backcourt tying for the match high at 17 digs. Lauren Teknipp led the team with blocks at five, followed by Eatmon and Desiree McCray, both with four.
In the first set of the match, both teams went point for point the entire set, tying a total of nine times. It was not until Arkansas went on a 4-0 run that the Razorbacks took a slight edge at 21-17. A block by Teknipp and McCray stopped that run to try and put the momentum into the Bulldog's hands. Kills by Megan Spencer and Eatmon got the team within three points, but a Razorback kill finalized the set win 25-21.
Set two was nothing less than a battle between the two teams. Arkansas jumped out to an early 4-2 lead but back-to-back kills by Eatmon tied the set up at 4-4. Both teams exchanged points back and forth until an ace by the Razorbacks and an error from the Bulldogs gave Arkansas a 15-11 lead. The Razorbacks continued with their momentum, pushing to a six-point lead, until kills by McCray and Le'au fired up the Bulldog offensive rhythm. A solid block by Le'au and Eatmon forced Arkansas to call a timeout as Georgia started coming back at 22-19. The Bulldog fight did not stop there as clutch kills from Spencer and Eatmon tied the set 23-23. Unfortunately two Georgia errors gave Arkansas the set win 25-23.
Both team's offenses came out swinging as the first six points of the set were all from kills alone. The two teams alternated points for the majority of the set once again, until Georgia capitalized on Arkansas's errors and found their offensive rhythm taking a 17-13 lead. The Bulldogs continued their strong offensive performance with kills from Teknipp and Le'au keeping the lead of four at 22-18. The Razorbacks fought back to get within one of Georgia at 23-22, but a great connection between Eatmon and Kehoe in the middle, and an Arkansas hitting error put Georgia in the match with a 25-22 set victory.
The Bulldogs came out on fire with an early 6-3 lead. Arkansas called its first timeout of the set at 11-7 as Teknipp and Eatmon stuff blocked a Razorback attempt. Georgia refused to let up as a Kazor's ace put the team up by eight points at 16-8. The Razorback defense could not find an answer for the Georgia offense as McCray and Teknipp kills sealed the 25-13 Bulldog win.
The final set of the match started in Arkansas's favor as the Razorbacks took a 5-1 lead. Back-to-back Georgia kills by Eatmon and a block by Amanda Dachs put the Bulldogs back in the set down 7-4. As Arkansas strung together three points in a row, Georgia called a timeout at 11-6 to slow down the Razorback momentum. Dachs answered back with two kills to give the Bulldogs some fire of their own and cut the lead to 13-8. Arkansas answered back with the final two kills to take the set and match victory at 15-9.
Georgia hit the road next weekend first stopping in Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 14 to battle the Missouri Tigers at 7:30 p.m., before heading to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Nov. 16 to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide at 2 p.m.
