Carrollton, GA - In the first day of action for the UWG volleyball team in the 2013 season, the Wolves split the day, winning 3-1 over King in the season opener followed by a loss to NCCAA power Malone in the night session, falling 3-1.

Wolves 3, King 1
The day began with a battle against King College out of Tennessee. Using a double-double effort from senior #Emily Reul#, the Wolves bested the Tornado 3-1 in the first match of the season.

Reul had 11 kills in the match and junior #Amanda Miles# was on fire in leading the Wolves to a sweep through the first two sets of the contest. West Georgia took down King 25-20 in the first set, then turned up the intensity in the second set with a 25-16 victory.

In the third set, the Wolves struggled on serve, falling to King 25-8 before rebounding nicely in the fourth and final set. In the fourth game, West Georgia hit .304 en route to a 25-15 victory and a 1-0 record on the young season.

Malone 3, UWG 1
The second four-set match of the 2013 season was a close affair across, the board, with both teams struggling to break through the opposite defense. In the match, Malone hit at a .157 percentage and West Georgia was slightly higher at .173.

The Wolves were strong on the block in the first set, picking up three blocks alone in the game from senior middle hitter #Lesley Bemis#. Things looked bleak for West Georgia, as in what would become the norm for the match, Malone took a 20-17 lead before a UWG timeout from head coach Gary Lee.

Out of the timeout, the Wolves outscored the Pioneers 8-2 en route to a 25-22 victory in the opening set. But Malone turned the tables on West Georgia in the final three sets, winning 25-21 in the second, 25-22 in the third and 25-22 in the fourth and final set.

For the match, Reul was again the top hitter for UWG with 14 kills, followed by Miles with 12. Bemis also reached double-digits with 10 kills and she finished the match with three blocks. Miles and junior #kendall WIlliams# were solid on the block as well with four blocks each in the match. Senior libero had a strong day on defense, collecting a combined 44 digs over the two games on the day, including 27 against Malone.

West Georgia begins the season with a 1-1 record and Malone moved to 2-0. Valdosta State was the only other team that was 2-0 in the first day of the invitational. West Alabama, UWG and King were each 1-1 while Notre Dame and Georgia College were each 0-2.

Day 2 of the 2013 UWG Invitational begins at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, with UWG playing Notre Dame at 2:00 and Georgia College in the finale at 4:30.