Carrollton, GA - After a stellar start to the season on Friday, the West Georgia Wolves fought hard against Saginaw Valley State and Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon, but fell 3-1 to Saginaw Valley and 3-2 to Pittsburg State to close the Saint Leo Lion Classic at 2-2 on the year.
The Wolves struggled against the strong front line of the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, as SVSU collected 13.5 team blocks in the 3-1 victory.
In the opening set, the Wolves hung tough with the Cardinals, allowing Saginaw Valley to get no more than a four-point advantage at any time during the first game. Senior
Lisa Ogide tied the game at 20, but the Cardinals outran UWG 5-1 to the finish line to take an early lead.
The second game was slightly different, as Saginaw Valley jumped out to a 16-10 lead and kept the Wolves at arms length for the remainder of the set to lead 2-0.
In the third game, the Wolves trailed 16-13 and head coach Gary Lee called a timeout to rally the troops. The timeout worked, as West Georgia reeled off five straight points to take a 18-16 lead. UWG kept pushing and freshman
Emily Reul finished off the game for the Wolves with a kill for the final point and a 25-21 win.
West Georgia jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the fourth and final set, but the Cardinals mounted a comeback and took the lead for good at 9-8. For the remainder of the match, Saginaw Valley essentially matched the Wolves point-for-point to take the 25-22 win.
Reul and sophomore
Mary K Krueger led the UWG offensive effort with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
Reagin Boggs,
Taylor Mense and
Cassady Cook combined for 34 assists in the match and
Ellie Murphy picked up 17 digs.
In the second match of the day, the Wolves took on the Gorillas of Pittsburg State. West Georgia took a 2-1 lead after three sets in this one, but the Gorillas came back and took the final two games 25-23 and 15-12 to take the victory.
Krueger and Reul each had double-digit kills on the afternoon with 15 and 11, respectively. Cook and Boggs split duty at setter, with Cook collecting a UWG career-high 29 assists to go along with Boggs' 16. Murphy led the way defensively with 26 digs and Krueger was strong at the net with five blocks.
West Georgia is now set for their home opener on Tuesday evening at The Coliseum, as Division III power Emory comes to town at 7 p.m.