CARROLLTON, Ga.- West Georgia took on Eastern Kentucky Thursday evening in Carrollton and fell to the Colonels in three sets. UWG looks towards Saturday's contest hosting the UT-Arlington Mavericks at 11 a.m. in The Coliseum.
SET ONE: West Georgia would start the match well with Brooke McCall put down a kill to answer EKU's opening point, and the Wolves led 2-1 and 3-2 behind a Grace-Blythe Cornett kill. A Valiree Schmus kill would the set at 4-4. EKU then pulled ahead with a 4-0 run to lead 7-4. The Wolves would keep fighting, Cornett finishing the set with three kills, two of them in a row off Desha Van Veldhuizen sets and Schmus also had three kills. The Wolves' defense was active with Cornett and Milena Cetkovic teaming up on two block assists, and Kirmer had a solo stuff. EKU would string together another 4-0 run that made it 15-7 and then extened their lead to 19-9. From there, the Wolves would actually win the closing stretch 7-6, getting back-to-back points to cut it to 19-11. EKU would take the first set 25-16.
SET TWO: The Wolves would lead off the second set swinging again. Grace-Blythe Cornett answered the opening EKU point with a kill, and Valiree Schmus tied it at 2-2. EKU then went on a 4-0 run to lead 6-2, Cornett would break the run with another kill to make it 6-3. Anezka Ourednikova would come off the bench and connect with Brooke McCall adding two kills. Giorgia Mandotti then served an ace to make the score 11-6 EKU, and the Wolves added points at 14-8 and 14-9 to stay within reach the Colonels. But EKU would end the second set on an 11-5 run.
SET THREE: Grace-Blythe Cornett and Milena Cetkovic would team up for a block for a 1-0 UWG lead. Cornett would then add another kill and a solo block to tie the set at 3-3. Valiree Schmus would record two kills to keep the set close, 7-6 EKU. The Colonels would manage a 3-0 run to go up 10-6, but West Georgia would answer back with a 5-2 run to get back into things, closing the gap to 11-12, Eastern Kentucky. Eva Erzen would record two kills in the runs for a new personal high at UWG. EKU would then respond with a 4-0 run, and then a 5-0 run to take the final set 25-14.
Highlights: Grace-Blythe Cornett would add ten kills on the night, making her third game recording 10+. Milena Cetkovic would tally three block assists, adding to a nine-game streak of stuffing one or more and Maddy Kirmer would record a block on the night, she has now blocked one in 17 of the 18 games she has appeared in. Giorgia Mandotti would record two service aces on the night, adding to her total of snagging a service ace in 15 of her 18 games played in. Eva Erzen would record two kills to set her UWG high.
The next West Georgia match is Saturday (Oct. 17) where they will host the UT-Arlington Mavericks at 2 p.m. on campus at The Coliseum. Tickets for upcoming home matches can be found here, and as always UWG students get into home matches for FREE with a valid UWG ID!
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