Georgia Too Much for GSU Volleyball
8/25/2007 4:17:00 AM | Volleyball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Georgia volleyball team held Georgia Southern to a .076 hitting percentage and had two players in double-figure kills, sweeping the Eagles 3-0 (30-21, 30-17, 30-22) to win the Georgia Southern Invitational.
The Bulldogs run their record to 3-0 while the Eagles fall to 1-2.
“This was a very, very competitive tournament,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “It's much different than last year. We had some high level teams here and Georgia outplayed everybody. They have a great team and a lot of different weapons. They came in here and took care of business.”
UGA did not drop a game in their undefeated run through the tournament.
Erika Clark led all players with 13 kills and 15 digs. Britta Buethe also notched a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Mara Martin dished out 40 assists.
For Georgia Southern, junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) had 12 kills and senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added 13 digs.
After a relatively easy game one for Georgia, game two saw a nip-and-tuck affair with a tie score at 13-13. The Bulldogs rattled off seven straight points from the serve of Tournament MVP Maria Taylor to take a commanding 20-13 lead. UGA dropped just four points the rest of the way.
Of the 14 players on GSU's roster, nine are newcomers, including eight freshmen. Three of those saw significant playing time tonight.
“I think the freshmen have done a really, really good job,” added McCray. “They're all a lot tougher than we thought they would be coming in and they've handled themselves well. The only way they're going to learn is by getting experience and if we can do that now against good teams, that will help us in conference.”
The Eagles return to action Tuesday with a road match at in-state foe Kennesaw State.
“There's nothing like competition and competing against somebody else is what we really needed,” said McCray. “We see what we're doing well and what we need to work on and we'll go back in the gym on Monday and get after it.”
All-Tournament Team
Maria Taylor, Georgia (MVP)
Mara Martin, Georgia
Brooke Peugh, Georgia
Rebecca Orzechovicz, Stetson
Karla Readshaw, Stetson
Bianca Julio, Georgia Southern
Kavie Sturch, North Florida
