CARROLLTON, Ga. – The University of West Georgia Volleyball team swept day one of the 2023 UWG Volleyball Tournament after wins over Concord and Emory & Henry on Friday.
West Georgia (4-1) breezed through their first match of the day against Concord (4-3) as the Wolves put down 37 kills on a .266 hitting percentage, leading to a 3-0 sweep, while Zoë LaBreche turned in a career-performance in match two against Emory & Henry (2-3) to propel UWG over the Wasps, 3-1.
"It was a fun first day of our tournament, going 2-0 against two very different opponents," said head coach
Kara Hellmann. "Our team continues to improve and taking what we work on each week in the practice gym, and translating it into the matches."
Match one vs Concord
UWG got out to a comfortable 9-6 lead in the first set before five straight points from LaBreche and
Sarah Pipping put the Wolves up by seven. A couple of kills from Concord stooped the bleeding for a moment until a massive 9-2 run from West Georgia put the set out of each as UWG walked to a 25-13 set win.
It was much of the same for the Wolves in the second set as West Georgia raced out to a 12-8 lead after a kill from
Marley Staats. After trading points for the next couple of rallies, Pipping charged another run for the Wolves, giving UWG a 21-14 lead late. West Georgia went on to score the next four points of the set to close out the set, 25-16.
Up 2-0, West Georgia claimed full control of the match and kept their foot on the gas, by racing out to a 13-7 lead after another kill from Pipping. The Mountain Lions went on to score the next two points before a kill from LaBreche and a block from
Sanai Young sparked a 12-5 run which was capped off by a kill from
Taylor Allen to win the set, 25-14, and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Match Two vs Emory & Henry
The first set between the Wolves and the Wasps was very competitive as the Wolves narrowly won the race to 10. West Georgia gained some breathing room after a couple of errors from Emory & Henry, extending UWG's lead to 18-14. The Wasps responded with a 5-2 run, cutting the Wolves lead to one before a kill from Allen began a 5-1 run to clinch the set for West Georgia, 25-20.
Down 1-0, Emory & Henry responded as the Wasps blitzed the Wolves, by getting out to a 10-4 lead to begin set two.
Caitlin Frazee sparked a 6-2 UWG run, with a kill, that got West Georgia right back in the set as the score read 12-10 Emory & Henry. After going back-and-forth, a kill from Staats began a 7-2 run for the Wolves, giving them an 18-16 lead late in the set. UWG went on to extend their lead to 22-18 until a 9-3 run for Emory & Henry won the Wasps the set, 27-25.
Emory & Henry got out to an 8-7 lead in set three until LaBreche completely took over the set as a kill from the senior began a colossal 10-0 run for West Georgia. LaBreche accumulated five points, during the run, and went on to collect three more in the set as UWG went on to win the set 25-14.
The momentum that was created in the third set for the Wolves carried over to the fourth as West Georgia took a 10-4 lead to begin. Emory & Henry scored three of the next four points, before LaBreche erupted again as more kills and service aces from the outside hitter put the set out of reach, with the Wolves winning, 25-15
After accumulating 15 kills in three sets in match one against Concord, LaBreche put together a stat line of a career-high 18 kills, a career-high seven service aces, a career-high 26 points, and 15 digs in match two. Defensively,
Kelli Kaiser found herself in the 20-dig club for the second time in her career as the junior collected a career-high 22 digs against Emory & Henry.
"We are looking to carry this momentum into tomorrow and capping off our weekend on a high note," Hellmann concluded.
West Georgia will close out the 2023 UWG Volleyball Tournament tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. with a matchup against Georgia College.
