CARROLLTON, Ga. - Fueled by four Wolves with double-digit kills, the West Georgia Wolves opened the season with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Georgia Bobcats on Friday afternoon in Due West, SC.
Emilee Harris led the way with 14 kills, followed by
Tierra White with 13,
Kaylyn Buchanan with 12, and
Caitlin Frazee with 10 to lead the Wolves to victory.
Autumn Mayes, starting in her first collegiate match as a setter, was stellar in the role, dishing out 46 assists in the match.
Georgia College opened the first set on a streak that was tough for the Wolves to overcome, jumping out to a 7-1 lead early in the set. UWG fought back to within four points late in the set, but Georgia College closed out the set, winning 25-20. The second set saw a very evenly-matched battle between the Wolves and Bobcats with neither team taking a lead of more than three points until the final points of the set. West Georgia led briefly at 18-16, but the Bobcats came back with a 9-3 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 victory.
Missing two regular starters in the lineup from the spring season, Mayes was forced into action as the setter for the weekend at Erskine. In addition to her 46 assists, Mayes also had five kills in the match.
The third set began with the Wolves scoring on back-to-back points, including a dump shot from Mayes to make it 2-0 early. Neither team could gain a significant advantage on the scoreboard until midway through the set. With the set tied at 12-12, the Wolves rattled off seven of the next eight points, taking a commanding 19-13 lead. West Georgia would not look back for the remainder of the set, pulling to within in one in the match at 2-1. Leading 23-17, Tierra White and Kelli Kaiser finished off the set with a kill and an ace, respectively for a 25-17 win.
A metaphorical slugfest broke out in the fourth set as the Wolves and Bobcats continued the trend from Set #3. Neither team could build any kind of substantial lead until Georgia College broke through at 11-9. UWG fired right back with back-to-back points to pull even at 11-11. The score remained even like that for the next eight points as the two teams were knotted up at 19-19 late in the set. West Georgia reeled off five consecutive points to take a 24-19 lead, then a kill from Buchanan finished off the set at 25-21 to force the match to a fifth set.
West Georgia used the momentum from consecutive set victories to bounce out to an early 6-2 lead in the final set. Georgia College responded with three consecutive points to cut the lead to one at 6-5. The Wolves continued to press, leading 11-6 before the Bobcats mounted a comeback. Georgia College clawed their way back into the match with five consecutive points to tie the final set at 11-11. The two teams traded points again and found themselves locked at 13-13. White dealt the decisive blow with a kill and a combination block with Mayes for the final two points and the 3-2 victory.
The Wolves will be back in action this evening, taking on Mars Hill in the 8 p.m. time slot at the Erskine Invitational.
