University of Georgia
North Carolina State
Georgia Falls to Harvard, NC State
September 13, 2014 | Volleyball
Highlights of Georgia's match against NC State including an interview with Coach Stemke.
Sept. 13, 2014
ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia volleyball team fell 3-1 to both Harvard and NC State in the final day of the Benson Hospitality Invitational. The Bulldogs fell 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 21-25) to the Harvard Crimson in the first match of the day before falling 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 29-31) to the NC State Wolfpack in the final match of the tournament. Georgia is now 5-3 on the season.
"Defensively our effort was fantastic; it was really good defensive effort on both sides," Head Coach Lizzy Stemke said. "We need to be tougher at the end of matches. It's one or two plays at the end of the match that are making the games. We know we are really close, but we need to get past one of these situations with a W to show that this hard work is paying off."
Harvard 3, Georgia 1
Box Score
Lauren Teknipp, Tirah Le'au, and Jasmine Eatmon paced the Georgia offense against Harvard with 14, 11, and 10 kills respectively. Kaylee Kehoe led the team with 46 assists. Eatmon controlled the net with five blocks while Le'au added her fourth double-double of the season with an impressive 22 digs.
The first set was filled with excitement as both sides battled until the final point that gave Georgia the set win 25-23. Desiree McCray and Eatmon started strong in the middle as kills by both players put Georgia ahead 3-1. The Bulldogs controlled the game with back-to-back kills and an ace to connect a string of three points for the 6-3 lead. An ace by Teknipp widened the gap to make the score 18-11. Harvard battled back with a strong offensive effort to put them back in the game only down two points 23-21. A kill in the middle by McCray stopped Harvard's 3-point run to make it set point for the Bulldogs. A big kill down the line by Teknipp solidified the win for Georgia with a 25-23 set victory.
There was no let up on the second set as both sides alternated points the entire set. The largest lead of the game was by Georgia with three points. That 3-0 lead came from a run of points with two kills by Teknipp and one from Eatmon to make the score 13-10. Harvard answered back offensively to reduce the lead to one at 18-17. A huge solo block by Eatmon tied the set 21-21. Harvard then took the lead, which forced Georgia to use a timeout at 23-21. As Georgia tied the game again at 23-23, Harvard tried to stop the Bulldog's momentum with a timeout. The Crimson came out of the break and scored the final two points to take the set 25-23.
Georgia jumped out strong in the third set taking a 7-3 lead. An ace by Cassidy Anderson gave the Bulldogs a big 11-4 lead. Harvard was not going to give up as they fought back to get within one point of Georgia at 14-13. The two teams exchanged points back and forth until a big kill by Le'au gave Georgia a 20-17 lead. The back and forth of points between both sides of the net continued as a Crimson error gave the Bulldogs a 23-22 lead. Harvard answered back with an ace and a kill to build on its momentum and take the set 25-23.
The Crimson's momentum carried on to the fourth set as they started with an 8-3 lead. A three-point run by Harvard forced Georgia to try to stop the momentum as Harvard extended its lead 14-6. Back to back kills by Eatmon gave the Bulldogs some energy as they gained points to make the score 15-8. A big kill down the line by Megan Spencer forced Harvard to call a timeout as the Bulldogs shorted the lead to six, 16-10. The strong Harvard offense continued as the Crimson pushed the score 20-14. A kill and two blocks in a row by Eatmon and Kehoe put the Bulldogs back in the game only down by three points at 20-17. Although Georgia fought back, the Harvard offense could not be stopped as the Crimson took the set 25-21 and finalized the match win.
NC State 3, Georgia 1
Box Score
Dachs stepped up offensively against NC State as she led the team with a whopping 16 kills, hitting at a .484 efficiency. Defense was a huge part of the match as McCray contributed an overwhelming 14 blocks. Smiley showed her grit, fighting for every ball, with 24 digs.
The Bulldogs opened the first set off strong with a commanding 5-1 lead, but NC State quickly responded with a run of its own and eventually tied the game at 6-6. The set went back and forth without either side able to gain control, until at 12-12 a Wolfpack service error and a Teknipp kill sparked a seven point run for Georgia. NC State was able to string together four points in a row to bring the score within three points at 16-19, but a balanced Bulldog offense proved too much for them and Georgia took the first set 25-20.
Both teams battled at the beginning of the second set, until a NC State kill and a Bulldog error gave the Wolfpack a 14-12 advantage, forcing a Georgia timeout. The Bulldogs came out of the break with a quick sideout but still trailed the Wolfpack until back-to-back NC State errors allowed them to take the lead again at 20-19. The Wolfpack answered with a big kill and used that momentum to close out the set 25-23.
The third set started off shaky for the Bulldogs as NC State raced to a 6-0 lead before being stopped by a McCray and Teknipp block. Georgia chipped away at the Wolfpack lead, and after a handful of NC State errors and some big kills by Dachs and McCray, the Bulldogs tied the game at 12-12. From there, the set remained close as both teams went kill-for-kill with each other until eventually another McCray kill put the Bulldogs up 22-21 and forced a NC State timeout. The timeout proved effective for the Wolfpack, as they took the next four points and the set 25-21.
The fourth set was an all out battle for both teams. The Bulldogs kept the momentum through the first half of the set but the Wolfpack were never far behind and eventually tied it up at 15-15. Nice offensive play by Teknipp and Dachs allowed the Bulldogs to hold a slight edge in the set, but once again NC State responded to the pressure and tied the game at 23-23. The teams went point-for-point with each other, and despite some cluth swings from Dachs, the Bulldogs were not able to come out on top and dropped the fourth and final set 31-29.
Georgia returns to action next weekend, Sept. 19-20, when it travels to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational. The Bulldogs will open the tournament against Georgia Tech on Friday at 7 p.m., and will take on Southern Miss and Alabama A&M on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
