University of Washington
Georgia
Huskies Handle Georgia In Straight Sets
September 10, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 10, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - The ninth-ranked Husky volleyball team opened the Bulldog Invitational with a victory over their hosts, sweeping Georgia at the Ramsey Student Center this evening. Senior Kindra Carlson's 17 kills were a season-high for the All-American, and sophomore Kelcey Dunaway had a career-high seven kills on 11 errorless swings in front of a crowd of 1,111.
Washington (6-0) made the cross-country trek to Georgia on Thursday, but did not let the long journey affect them as they handled the Bulldogs (6-2) by a 25-17, 25-21, 25-21, count. This was the second-straight win over a group of Bulldogs, as the Huskies swept Gonzaga in their last outing.
Carlson had her first double-double of the year with 11 digs to go along with her 17 kills. She hit .289 for the match, which equaled the team's overall total. Senior All-American Jenna Hagglund had 39 assists for the second match in a row, and redshirt freshman Jenna Orlandini tallied 16 digs. Georgia was held to a .140 attack percentage and just 33 kills compared to 49 for UW.
The Huskies showed no signs of jetlag in the first set, as they hit a scorching .447 led by the nine kills of Carlson on just 14 swings. Freshman Gabbi Parker got her second-straight start and scored the first kill of the match on an assist from Kylin Muñoz. At 4-all, Washington used a 7-1 run to take control of the set and force Georgia to call time. After the break, Muñoz clocked two straight kills and Carlson found the floor on the next point to extend the Husky lead to 14-5 and prompt the second UGA timeout. Georgia gained ground with a 4-0 run to make it 21-16 and cause Coach McLaughlin to request a quick powwow, and the Huskies responded with four of the next five points, including three more Hagglund-to-Carlson finishes to close out the set.
Georgia took a 4-3 lead in the second set, but Washington went on a big roll with sophomore Kelly Holford on the service line. Hagglund found junior Bianca Rowland, Carlson, and Muñoz on successive points for finishes, and then Rowland took over with a solo block, followed by another kill, and then an assisted block with Hagglund. Georgia needed time suddenly trailing 9-4. Dunaway had three kills in the middle of the set, each one keeping the Husky margin at five points. Georgia pulled to within three points at 21-18, but Parker responded with a kill to stop the run. After a Bulldogs timeout, the set ended anticlimactically with three service errors over the final four points, but Hagglund and Rowland teamed up for another critical block to keep UW out front, and the Huskies claimed the set, 25-21, after Georgia's Brittany Northcutt misfired on serve. The Huskies hit just .195 for the set but held Georgia to a match-low .091.
A block from Carlson and Dunaway gave the Huskies the momentum early in the third set, as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead. Dunaway then had back-to-back spikes to a 10-5 UW edge. But the third frame was far from over. The only ace of the entire match was hit by Georgia's Valentina Gonzalez to pull the Bulldogs within one at 14-13 and force a UW timeout. Muñoz put one down out of the break, and after a Bulldog miscue made it 18-15, Georgia called its first timeout. The Bulldogs then fought all the way back to tie things at 20-all after back-to-back blocks of swings from Rowland and Parker. Washington took its last timeout, but made this one count, as it surged ahead to the finish. Parker found the mark out of the break for her seventh kill of the night, then Georgia was forced into a pair of errors and a missed serve over the next four points to bring up match point. Muñoz notched her career-best ninth kill on the final point to clinch it, 25-21.
The Huskies will have an early day and a long day tomorrow, starting with a match against Georgia Tech at 7 a.m. Pacific time. The Yellow Jackets were an NCAA qualifier last season. Washington will return to the court later in the afternoon to take on Florida Gulf Coast, with first serve scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Pacific.
