The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Georgia
Lady Rebels Drop Dog-Fight To Georgia 3-0
10/11/2002 | Volleyball
Oct. 11, 2002
ATHENS, Ga. - The Lady Rebels opened the first weekend of road competition in the Southeastern Conference with a dog-fight, taking on the Lady Bulldogs of Georgia. Despite the fight in the Lady Rebels being strong enough put themselves in position to win the match, Georgia was able to slip past Ole Miss in each game to claim the win 3-0 (30-32, 27-30, 24-30).
"I thought we played well and that Georgia played well tonight," said head coach Joe Getzin. "We did some things to build on our performance from Tuesday night against Memphis, but we didn't do enough. We're certainly making strides though. We fought, but not quite enough."
Elena Garcia and Karla Zschau led the Lady Rebels on the night, as both players recorded 12 kills. Garcia also led the team defensively, coming up with a season-high 18 digs on the night. The 18 digs also tied a career-high for Garcia, the third time she has reached that number in two seasons with the Lady Rebels.
Ole Miss came out aggressive in the first game of the match, fighting to dig every ball and set the offensive tempo to its liking. It worked, as the Lady Rebels pulled out to a 4-1 lead to start the match. Georgia regained its composure, rallying to tie the match at four, before Cheryl Wilson would power a ball at the back row for a kill to take the lead again. The Lady Bulldogs would take a two point lead after a quick run, but Ole Miss would tie the game again at nine.
The teams traded scores after that, neither team able to firmly wrench control away from the other as they both fought to dictate the course of the game. The most Georgia could build would be a two point lead before Ole Miss would respond and tie the match. The lead extended to three in favor of the Bulldogs for the first time at 25-22, which would hold up to game point. With the score sitting at 29-26 in favor of Georgia, the Lady Rebels dug down deep and fought back to tie the match. The Lady Bulldogs would respond, claiming game one 32-30.
The dog-fight continued into the second game, with both teams attacking the ball with tenacity, but Ole Miss would again pull out to a lead. The Lady Rebels led 8-3 before Georgia would look to its star, Julia Petruschke, to get the squad back into the game. The German power did the job, chipping away at the lead until the match sat tied at 10.
The two teams would trade scores, with Ole Miss being the team pulling out to the slight lead. But it would be short lived as Georgia would tie the match at 19. The point trading would resume, until the Lady Bulldogs would take a lead for good at 25-24 and continue on to close out the second game 30-27.
Georgia would be the team to pull out to a quick lead in the third game, stepping out 4-0 on the Lady Rebels before a serve in the net would put Ole Miss on the board. The Lady Rebels would rally to tie the match at six, and take the lead 7-6 after the early deficit. Once again, the squads would trade scores before Georgia would rattle off a five point run to extend its lead to 18-13. Ole Miss would get no closer as the Lady Bulldogs would close out the match and sweep the Lady Rebels with a 30-24 win in game three.
It was a three-pronged attack for Georgia, as Petruschke turned in 18 kills for the Lady Bulldogs, while Jennie Metz and Luresa Forsythe came away with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Metz also recorded 12 digs on the night.
Ole Miss will continue the SEC road trip on Sunday, taking on the third-ranked Lady Gators of Florida in a rematch from the opening weekend of conference play. The match will be played at 2 p.m. at the Stephen C. O'Connell center.
