CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia dropped their second conference match of the season after a five-set loss to the Lee Flames on Friday.
UWG (6-5, 0-2) had another solid defensive outing, but they struggled on the offensive end as the Wolves recorded a .181 hitting percentage which ranks as their third lowest of the season, leading to their 3-2 loss to Lee (8-5, 1-1).
The two teams went back-and-forth in set one, leading to a 15-15 game halfway through. Moments later, Lee took an 18-17 lead before the Wolves used an 8-2 run to win the set, 25-20.
Reeling off of their set one win, West Georgia started set two in rhythm as a kill from
Marley Staats put the Wolves up 16-12 until a service ace from Lee's Allie Scurlock completely shifted the momentum in favor of the Flames. Scurlock's kill sparked a 9-3 run for Lee, giving them a 22-20 lead late. A kill from
Sarah Pipping and a block from
Desha Van Veldhuizen and
Taylor Allen tied the game at 22 before the Flames scored three of the next four points to win the set, 25-23.
Like the previous two sets, set three was very competitive as the two teams were knotted at 12 halfway through. A 6-1 West Georgia run gave the Wolves a 18-13 lead before Lee countered with a 6-2 run, cutting UWG's lead to one and forcing a timeout. Out of the break, the two teams traded points until a block from Pipping and Allen won the set for West Georgia, 25-23.
In the fourth set, Lee marched out to a commanding 14-8 lead. Kills from Allen,
Caitlin Frazee, Zoë LaBreche kept the Wolves in the set, but the Flames went on to win it, 25-17.
After falling behind 3-1 in the fifth and final set, another kill from Young ignited a 6-2 UWG run to give West Georgia a 7-5 lead. Lee responded, by scoring the next two points to tie the game at seven before a kill from LaBreche capped off a 4-1 run to give the Wolves their largest lead of the set at 11-8. After the UWG run, it was all Lee as the Flames went on to score seven of the next nine points to take the set, 15-13.
LaBreche and Van Veldhuizen led the way offensively as LaBreche recorded a match-high 17 kills, while Van Vledhuizen accumulated a career-high 27 assists, a career-high 12 digs, and a career-high four blocks.
Kelli Kaiser also picked up a career-high 26 digs, while Allen recorded a career-high 10 blocks.
West Georgia will be back in action on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. matchup with the Shorter Hawks.
