LITTLE ROCK, Ar.- West Georgia stumbles to Little Rock three sets to one on their first contest this week in Arkansas. The Wolves will travel only 30 minutes north to Conway, Arkansas to face the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas Saturday (Oct. 10). This will be the second time the Wolves have faced UCA, hosting them just last Thursday in Carrollton.
SET ONE: Little Rock struck first, but a Trojan service error and an attack error gave West Georgia the early 2-1 lead. UWG re-took the lead at 7-6 after an attack error from the Trojans' Avery Fearnley. Little Rock fought back with a 4-1 run behind three Wolf errors to take a 10-8 lead. West Georgia answered with a 7-2 run of its own, again from several Trojan errors, to retake the lead 15-12 at the media break. A solo block and a kill from Valiree Schmus would stretch the Wolves' lead to 17-14. Brooke McCall's kill made it 19-16 and Devin Hicks followed with a service ace for a 20-16 lead. Little Rock tied it at 21 all on a service ace, and a kill would put the Trojans up 23-22. Schmus answered with a kill to tie it at 23-23, and Giorgia Mandotti then served back-to-back aces to close out the set 25-23.
SET TWO: Little Rock jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. West Georgia would pull even at 4-4 behind back-to-back kills from Valiree Schmus. The Trojans responded with a push of their own, up 9-5 and forcing a West Georgia timeout. The Wolves cut it to 9-6, but the Trojans used a 5-0 run to build a 14-6 lead. West Georgia would climb back 14-9 with three straight points, but Little Rock would take a 15-9 lead at the media break. Little Rock extended their lead to 18-11 coming out of the break, but Schmus would stuff a solo block and Giorgia Mandotti added a service ace to make it 18-13, forcing a Trojan timeout. Little Rock then scored four straight for a 22-13 lead. A Giovana Ribeiro's kill and a Milena Cetkovickill started a five-point UWG run that brought the score to 23-19, but the Trojans would hold on to take set point at 24-19. Little Rock would take the second set 25-20, tying the match one set a piece.
SET THREE: West Georgia would go up 2-1 on a Grace-Blythe Cornett kill and a Trojan attack error. Little Rock would push ahead 6-3 but UWG would pull back within 6-4 on a Valiree Schmus kill. Schmus would then take over recording a solo block and then notch three straight service aces. A Milena Cetkovic and Anežka Ouredníková block assist made it 9-7, forcing a Little Rock timeout. UWG would hold a 15-10 lead at the media break, highlighted by another Schmus solo block. Little Rock's comeback would start with two service aces, which would begin a 9-0 run to flip the score 19-16 in favor of the Trojans. Little Rock would take the third set 25-18.
SET FOUR: Opening with a Brooke McCall kill, UWG would take the first point of the fourth set. A Milena Cetkovic kill would tie at 2-2 and a Trojan attack error gave the Wolves a 3-2 lead. Then Polianna Hernandez went to the service line and changed the set. She served three aces, and a Boyte and Alayna Vaeth block assist added to a 5-0 Trojan run that made it 7-3 Little Rock and forced a West Georgia timeout. The Wolves would cut into the deficit from there. A Grace-Blythe Cornett kill would make it 8-5, then another to make it 9-6. Little Rock answered with a second 5-0 to push the Trojans out to 14-6. UWG would struggle the last leg of the set and drop the fourth and final set 25-17.
Catch West Georgia Volleyball in action next Thursday (Oct. 10) to face the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas to continue UAC conference play. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and as always Live Stats will be available for fans to follow along.
The next West Georgia home game is Thursday (Oct. 15) where they are set to host Eastern Kentucky at The Coliseum. Tickets for upcoming matches can be found here, and as always UWG students get into home matches for FREE with a valid UWG ID!
To stay up to date with Wolves Volleyball, follow their Instagram (@uwgwolvesvb) and X (@UWGWolvesVB) accounts for the latest up-to-date information.
