CARROLLTON, Ga. - With just 21 minutes left before midnight, the final point of the day fell on the side of UWG volleyball as the Wolves completed a perfect opening day. 

Head coach Kara Hellmann opened her tenure at UWG with a pair of victories at the Erskine Invitational in Due West, SC on Friday afternoon, winning 3-2 over Georgia College in the early game followed by a 3-0 sweep of Mars Hill in the nightcap. With the tournament running slightly behind schedule, the Wolves began the final match of the day at Belk Arena at just a few minutes after 10 p.m. One hour and 29 minutes later, the Wolves had secured the victory with outside hitter Emilee Harris leading the way again. 

The senior from Woodstock had a solid opening day on the offensive side of things, delivering on 25 kills over the course of two matches as the only UWG player with double-digit kills in both. Harris had 14 kills in the opener and 11 against Mars Hill, hitting with a .213 average. 

In the opening set of the Mars Hill match, the two teams had a see-saw battle early on, but back-to-back-to-back kills from Tierra White, Kelli Kaiser, and Harris gave the Wolves a 14-9 advantage. The UWG offense continued to click, expanding the lead to as much as seven points in the set before the dust settled on a 25-22 victory for the Wolves. 

The second frame saw West Georgia lead for most of the set, but the scrappy Mars Hill squad would not allow the Wolves to pull away for much of the set. With the score close at 20-19, Caitlin Frazee started the rally as UWG rattled off five consecutive points to take a 25-19 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. 

The Wolves consistently improved in their hitting percentage throughout the match, with setter Autumn Mayes leading the way. Mayes had 70 total assists on the day, averaging 8.75 assists per set in her first experience as the regular setter. In the Mars Hill match, she delivered on 34 assists to lead the offensive attack that went from eight errors in the first set to five in the second and four in the third. 

For the third set, the Wolves jumped out to a 16-10 advantage and kept Mars HIll at that distance for the remainder of the match, winning 25-19 in the final set. Mayes, Kaiser, and Sydney Blackmon were all at the top of the UWG stat sheet in digs, as Mayes and Blackmon each had 17 followed by 15 for Kaiser. On the block, Kaylyn Buchanan had a stellar day, delivering on 12.0 total blocks for the Wolves on opening day. 

West Georgia will be back at it again on Saturday morning at 10 am with a quick turnaround to face the host Erskine Flying Fleet. At 2 p.m. tomorrow, the Wolves will take on Francis Marion.