Georgia Volleyball Season Review

facebooktwitterreddit

The Georgia volleyball team finished its 2014 campaign with a 14-17 record, including a 5-13 mark in Southeastern Conference matches.

More from Georgia Bulldogs News

While the record is disappointing, there were some highlights. The Dawgs took a pair of tournament titles, defeated Georgia Tech for the first time since 2005, and swept Missouri – including a first-ever win in Columbia, Mo. Individually,

Desiree McCray

earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career, Tirah Le’au becoming a 1,000 kill performer and

Gaby Smiley

earned a spot on the SEC Volleyball Community Service Team for the second-straight year.

 
The Bulldogs set several match records in 2014 as well. The Bulldogs posted 20 blocks against Southern Miss, the first time since 2002 a Georgia team recorded 20 blocks in a match and the first time in program history that the Bulldogs had 20 blocks in a four set match. The Bulldogs posted a .512 hitting percentage against Alabama A&M, which was the highest single-game hitting percentage since 2005.

In addition to the team records, Jasmine Eatmon had one of the best individual season performances in recent memory, hitting over .300 in 19 matches and over .400 in 14 matches this season. Her .818 hitting efficiency on 11 attempts against Tennessee tied the Georgia all-time record for hitting percentage in a match. Eatmon ranked in the top-five among SEC players in hitting percentage, notching a .396 on the year and .403 in SEC play. Defensively, Eatmon finished second on the team in blocks with 97, averaging 0.88 blocks per set. Fifty of those blocks came in SEC play.

The Bulldogs started their season by winning eight of their first 12 matches. On the way, Georgia took home two preseason tournament titles. The first tournament trophy came at the Bulldog Invitational when they picked up three wins over Chattanooga, Belmont and the College of Charleston. Georgia then took home the Georgia Tech Invitational title. Among the wins that helped the Bulldogs take home the championship was a 3-1 win over Georgia Tech, the first win over the in-state rival since 2005.

Tirah Le’au became the 17th player in Georgia history, and the second in as many seasons, to reach 1,000 career kills in Georgia’s 3-1 win over Mississippi State in the final regular-season SEC weekend.

Georgia concluded its 2014 campaign with a 3-2 win over Kennesaw State on senior night. Prior to the match, the Bulldogs honored Le’au, Lauren Teknipp, Kaylee Kehoe and Gaby Smiley. The foursome combined for over 50 wins, over 1,900 kills, over 1,800 digs and over 150 aces.

Georgia returns nine players for the 2015 season, including five everyday players. The Bulldogs will also welcome five newcomers to the roster.

Next: Chubb leads rout of Louisville.