Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CARROLLTON, Ga. – After two wins to kick off the regular season last weekend at the Gamecock Classic, the University of West Georgia Volleyball team carried their momentum into the 2024 UWG Tournament, sweeping Day One with wins over UNC Asheville and Morgan State on Friday.

West Georgia (4-1, 0-0 ASUN) was stout defensively, holding UNC Asheville (0-2, 0-0 Big South) and Morgan State (0-6, 0-0 MEAC) to a combined .142 hitting percentage in route to a pair of wins.

"I thought our team really grew today in both matches - I am proud of this group," said head coach Kara Hellmann. "Definitely not our sharpest performances but we found ways to score and grind throughout each of today's matches and had different people stepping up at different times."

MATCH ONE: UWG 3, UNC Asheville 1
In the first set, the Wolves marched out to a 6-1 lead before the Bulldogs began to find their rhythm, scoring seven of the next nine points to knot the score at eight. The momentum stayed on the side of UNC Asheville as the Bulldogs took their largest lead of the set at 16-13 after a kill from Albertine an Der Goot. Moments later, kills from Sanai Young and Zoë LaBreche put an end to UNC Asheville's run and swung the momentum back in favor of UWG. Young and LaBreche sparked a 10-4 West Georgia run, giving the Wolves a 23-20 lead before back-to-back errors from the Bulldogs clinched the set, 25-22, for UWG.

After dropping a narrow first set, UNC Asheville responded by blitzing West Georgia in the second, taking an 11-3 lead early. The Wolves struggled to get back into the set and later found themselves facing a 20-6 deficit until LaBreche and Marley Staats came alive. The duo combined for eight points to get West Georgia back into the game, but the deficit would be too large as UWG dropped the set, 25-19.

The third set got off to a competitive start as UNC Asheville narrowly won the race to ten. Trailing 10-9, LaBreche put down a kill that ignited a massive 16-3 run which clinched the third, 25-13, for the Wolves.

With their back against the wall in the fourth set, the Bulldogs got out to an 11-7 lead. UNC Asheville seemed to have put themselves in position to force a fifth set until a service error from Suzuka Kato swung the pendulum in favor of West Georgia. Kills from Young and Callaway Cason got things started for the Wolves which was followed by a pair of aces from Desha Van Veldhuizen, propelling UWG to a 15-12 lead. West Georgia wasn't done as a kill and an ace from Cason extended the Wolves' lead to six before LaBreche and Young put the set and the match away with a block.

LaBreche, Young, and Staats combined for 32 of UWG's 49 kills while Victoria Schmer picked up a career-high 23 digs.

MATCH TWO: UWG 3, Morgan State 2
An uber competitive and thrilling match began with Morgan State taking a 10-8 lead, in the first set, after a kill from Addison Metts. The very next rally, Mary Morgan Formby put down a kill that began a 6-2 West Georgia run, giving the Wolves a 14-12 midway through. From there on out, UWG committed nine errors which resulted in a 27-25 set win for the Bears.

Set two was a battle of runs to begin as West Georgia got out to a 5-0 lead before Morgan State responded by scoring seven of the next eight points to put the Wolves in a one-point deficit. After taking a punch from the Bears, UWG responded with a haymaker. Back-to-back kills from LaBreche and Formby began a colossal 17-7 run, giving West Georgia set point at 24-15. Morgan State didn't go down without a fight as they scored the next four points until an attack error won the set, 25-19, for UWG.

Reeling off of a set two win, the Wolves came out hot in set three, taking a 10-5 lead to start. A pair of errors from West Georgia brought life back to Morgan State and the Bears proceeded to use an 11-4 run, putting UWG in a 16-14 hole. A kill from Staats and an ace from Ashley Barnes tied the game up until a kill from Daniela Ferreira sparked a 4-1 Morgan State run, putting the Bears ahead, 20-17. The Wolves countered with a 9-5 run, created two set point opportunities but they couldn't close the door, resulting in Morgan State winning the set, 28-26.

In the fourth set, UWG quickly fell down 8-5 until a kill from Young ignited a 5-0 run for West Georgia. For the remainder of the set, the two teams traded blows, resulting in a 21-20 lead for the Bears late. A pair of aces from Maggie Kachmarik and a block from Staats and Alex Strating gave the Wolves set point before an attack error from Morgan State's Metts won the set, 25-21, for West Georgia.

After ending the fourth set on a 4-0 run, UWG began the fifth and final set, by scoring the first five points. The Wolves continued to keep the Bears at bay as a kill from Staats made it an 8-3 game. Morgan State got within two twice in the set but West Georgia was never in any real danger of dropping the game as Formby ended the set and match with a kill.

LaBreche finished the match with 21 kills, one shy of tying her career-high, while Formby added 17. Cason dished out a season-high 50 assists, putting herself in prime position to repeat as the ASUN Setter of the Week.

"Two really good team wins today," Hellmann concluded. "Now we shift our focus to a really tough Georgia State team for tomorrow."

West Georgia will conclude the 2024 UWG Tournament on Saturday when they clash against the Georgia State Panthers at 1:00 p.m.