University of Georgia
Georgia Tech
Georgia Stings Georgia Tech 3-1
September 19, 2014 | Volleyball
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Georgia volleyball team took a 3-1 (31-29, 25-23, 18-25, 25-19) win over in-state rival Georgia Tech on Friday, September 19 in the opening match of the Georgia Tech Volleyball Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 6-4 on the year, while Georgia Tech drops to 4-6 overall. The win was the first win over Georgia Tech since 2005.
"Tonight was a good step forward for our team," Head Coach Lizzy Stemke said. "We had some really tight moments and earned points at the end of sets. We served very tough and came up with some big swings at some crucial points. I am really proud of our composure and our grit tonight."
The Bulldogs had three players with double-digit kills, led by Tirah Le'au with 13. Amanda Dachs and Lauren Teknipp finished the day with 12 kills each. Kaylee Kehoe led the team with 46 assists. Le'au was also impressive defensively, finishing with a team-best 18 digs, giving her a fifth double-double of the year.
In what turned out to be a marathon first set, the Bulldogs came out on top 31-29. Georgia raced out to a 5-1 lead. The Yellow Jackets fought back to tie the game at nine, but three-straight Georgia points allowed the Bulldogs to retake the lead at 12-9 and forced Georgia Tech to use its first timeout. The teams went point-for-point over the next several possessions until a service error and a Teknipp kill put Georgia up 22-18. With Georgia holding set point, the Yellow Jackets rallied to tie the set at 24-24. The teams tied five more times before a Teknipp kill and a Teknipp and Eatmon block sealed the set 31-29.
The high paced match continued into the second set, which Georgia won 25-23. The teams tied 17 times before Georgia was able to use the serve of Teknipp and put together a 3-0 run and take a 20-17 lead, forcing Tech to call a timeout. The Jackets rallied and tied the set at 20-20 before a Dachs kill allowed the Bulldogs to retake the lead. A service ace and a bad set gave Georgia set point before Le'au put it away with a kill, giving Georgia 2-0 match lead.
After dropping the third set 25-18, Georgia rallied to take the fourth set 25-19 and seal the match 3-1. The fourth and final set was close in the opening possessions until a Le'au kill sparked a 3-0 run that put the Bulldogs up 8-5. Georgia held the momentum and eased out to a 13-8 lead. The lead increased to 18-12 with the help of the serve of Elle McCord. The Jackets clawed back to within two at 19-17, but a kill by Desiree McCray ended the run. Georgia went on to score the final four points of the match on kills by Dachs, Jasmine Eatmon and McCray and take it 25-19.
Georgia returns to action tomorrow, September 20 at 10 a.m., when it faces Southern Miss. The Bulldogs will then take on Alabama A&M at 4:30 p.m., in the final match of the weekend.
