University of Georgia
Alabama
Georgia Falls 3-1 to Alabama in SEC Opener
September 24, 2014 | Volleyball
Highlights of Georgia's volleyball match against Vanderbilt including Coach Stemke talking about the loss.
Sept. 24, 2014
ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (19-25, 28-26, 21-25, 23-25) loss in its Southeastern Conference opener against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia is now 8-5 on the season while Alabama rises to 13-2.
"We had some really great moments of fight and there were moments of really good execution, but we missed some responsibilities at crucial times," Head Coach Lizzy Stemke said. "Alabama won the serve and pass game and that's where our game lies. The things we have been working on are the things we need to continue to work on. It's not going to change in a night or even a week, but we hope to see longer consistency in those changes."
Tirah Le'au earned her seventh double-double of the season leading the team in both kills and digs with 19 and 14, respectively. Jasmine Eatmon also had a standout performance with 11 kills and 6 blocks.
The Bulldogs started the first set strong as a stuff block by Desiree McCray and Lauren Teknipp shut down the first swing by Alabama. The two teams traded points at the beginning of the set. The Crimson Tide inched ahead to take a 9-6 lead. A big swing by McCray got the Bulldogs within two at 10-8, however a serve receive error by Georgia forced Coach Stemke to use the team's first timeout as they were down 13-9. Back to back kills by Le'au fired up the crowd to make the score 20-18. Georgia was unable to stop the Crimson Tide's offensive momentum as Alabama took the set 25-19.
The second set was the definition of grit for the Bulldogs. Alabama took a quick 3-0 lead with a kill and two errors by the Bulldogs, but Georgia answered back with three points in a row. An ace by Teknipp gave the Bulldogs a 7-5 lead and continued the Bulldog's momentum. A big kill by Le'au pushed the lead to three to put Georgia ahead 10-7. Alabama then went on a six-point run to get a 16-11 lead. To stop the run, Teknipp responded with a crafty back row kill down the line. Three kills that came from Le'au, McCray, and Teknipp pushed the Bulldogs back in the game cutting the point deficit to only three, 19-16. Georgia was far from done fighting as an ace by Elle McCord and a block by Eatmon tied the set at 21. Both sides of the net battled point by point as a final block by Eatmon solidified the set win for the Bulldogs 28-26.
The third set started just like it ended. Both sides of the net alternated points as huge solo block in the middle by McCray gave the Bulldogs a one-point advantage 11-10. An ace by Alabama gave the Crimson Tide the biggest lead of the set 20-18. Alabama continued its run, as the team was able to string together four points in a row to make it set point 24-21. The Crimson tide came out with the final point to finish the set 25-21.
The teams kept the fourth set close through the opening possessions, tying nine times before Alabama reached 15 points with the Bulldogs trailing by only one. Neither team could answer defensively as both sides exchanged points kill after kill. An attack error by Georgia gave the Crimson Tide the biggest lead of the set at 20-17. The Bulldogs fought back offensively with Le'au and Eatmon each adding a pair of kills, but Georgia fell short losing the set 25-23.
The Bulldogs will return to action at Auburn next Wednesday, Oct. 3 to play the Tigers at 9 p.m., in an ESPNU televised match.
