MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It was a successful end to the Warhawk Invitational for the University of West Georgia Volleyball team as the Wolves handled the Albany State Golden Rams, 3-1, on Saturday.
UWG's (6-3) offense has been efficient all season, but they reached another level in their four-set win over Albany State (3-7) as West Georgia accumulated 53 kills on a season-high .313 hitting percentage.
"It's good to finish out our non-conference slate with a victory," said head coach
Kara Hellmann.
The conference's kill leader, Zoë LaBreche came out the gate hot as the outside hitter immediately recorded three kills, leading the Wolves to a 9-3 lead early in set one. ASU responded, by scoring the next three points before UWG went on an 8-5 run to create separation from the Golden Rams. The two teams went back-and-forth the rest of the way, with a
Sarah Pipping winning the set, 25-19 for West Georgia.
The Wolves got out to a 14-11 lead in set two behind five kills from LaBreche and a handful of attack errors from the Golden Rams. Moments later, UWG held their largest lead of the set at 16-12 before a 5-1 run from ASU tied the game at 17. Another kill from LaBreche gave West Georgia the lead momentarily until Albany State erupted for an 8-5 run to win the set, 25-22.
UWG has responded well to set losses in 2023 and that didn't change on Saturday as West Georgia marched out to a 12-4 lead to begin the third. ASU fought back to cut UWG's lead to four before a kill from Pipping began a mini 4-2 West Georgia run, making it a 19-13 game. Down six late in the set,
Albany State didn't lay down as the Golden Rams scored the next four points to make it a two-point game until a
Sanai Young kill started a 5-0 run that put the set out of reach.
Set four was competitive to begin, but it began to unravel quickly for ASU. With the score sitting at 5-5 early, a kill from Young ignited a massive 14-3 UWG run that put the Wolves up 19-7. Kills from LaBreche and Pipping put the set even further out of reach as West Georgia went on to win the set, 25-10, to clinch the match, 3-1.
LaBreche put together another offensive masterclass as the senior recorded 19 kills on a .385 hitting percentage, while Pipping was right behind her with 13 kills on a .480 hitting percentage. Defensively,
Isabela Segoviano recorded a career-high 16 digs.
"We have a quick turnaround and jump right into GSC play with three home matches this week and will look to come out firing," Hellmann concluded.
West Georgia make their return to The Coliseum on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. when they begin conference play, by hosting rival Valdosta State.
