Kansas Runs By Georgia, Downs the Bulldogs, 3-0

Kansas 3, Georgia 0
Horejsi Family Athletics Center  // Lawrence
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Georgia 17 23 18
Kansas 25 25 25

Box Score (.pdf)

Statistical Leaders
Kansas Georgia
Riley – 11 Digs Summers- 16
McNorton – 38 Assists Kehoe – 16
Dockery/McClinton – 14 Kills Smith/Teknipp – 10
Jarmoc- .471 Hit % Eatmon – .417
Soucie – 4 Blocks Three tied – 2
Stats Comparison KU UGA
Kills 50 41
Hitting Pct. .368 .198
Assists 44 36
Service Aces 3 0
Digs 44 39
Total Blocks 7.0 5.0

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A match-high 14 kills from outside hitters Sara McClinton and Tiana Dockery hoisted Kansas to a win over Georgia, Friday night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, sweeping the match 25-17, 25-23, 25-18.
 
KU (9-3) held the Bulldogs (8-2) to an attack percentage of .198 in the match, while the Jayhawk offense posted a .368 hitting efficiency led by Dockery and McClinton, who hit .407 and .429, respectively. Redshirt senior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc notched eight kills of her own. Senior Setter Erin McNorton initiated the Jayhawk offense, dishing out 38 assists.
 
“(Tiana) Dockery and (Sara) McClinton were outstanding tonight,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “Jar (Caroline Jarmoc) was good, too, but I just thought everybody in some way impacted the match.”
 
Defensively, freshman middle blocker Tayler Soucie had four blocks, while senior libero Brianne Riley dug out 11 attacks from the Georgia offense.
 
The match was a back-and-forth battle through three sets. Kansas looked to pull away multiple times throughout each set, only to have Georgia fight its way back each time, until late KU runs put the Bulldogs away.
 
Both teams battled early in the first set, KU held a 4-3 lead until a 5-0 run. Sparked by kills from Jarmoc and McClinton, the Jayhawks jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Georgia responded with a 3-0 run of its own to pull back within three, 9-6. KU weathered the Bulldog storm and built up another early lead going ahead 15-9 making Georgia once again call a timeout. The Jayhawks, in the midst of a 7-0 run, hit their stride out of the second timeout stringing together a block by Jarmoc and Soucie.
 
A kill from Dockery, two kills from Jarmoc and a service ace from freshman defensive specialist Cassie Wait to cap it off, Kansas took a comfortable 19-9 lead. Georgia was able to stop the bleeding, crafting a 4-0 run of its own, tightening the score back up, 22-16. KU used the momentum from the run – and with the crowd at Horejsi behind them – never gave up its lead. Jarmoc finished the Bulldogs off in the first set with her fifth kill, 25-17.
 
The back-and-forth pace continued into the second set, with KU trailing 10-6, the Jayhawks put together a 4-0 run highlighted by Riley’s service ace. Then McClinton responded with a kill to knot the score at 10. KU took its first lead of the set following a block by McNorton and Soucie, then a McNorton service ace followed by an Albers kill put KU up 17-15 making Georgia use a timeout.
 
Georgia capitalized out of the timeout, jumping out to a 4-0 run, forcing KU to call a timeout trailing 19-17. Back-to-back kills from Dockery tied the score at 21 late in the set, Georgia rallied with a point, but another consecutive kill sequence by Dockery put KU ahead 23-22, making Georgia burn its last timeout. Dockery recorded her 10th kill of the match, and eighth of the set, to put KU ahead for good 25-23, giving the Jayhawks a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
KU jumped out to an early 8-4 lead to start the third set. After back-to-back kills from Jarmoc and McClinton, Georgia used an early timeout. The Bulldogs wouldn’t go away easily as KU saw its early lead slip away after a 3-0 run tied the set at 11. The Jayhawks once again put together another run, stringing together six-straight points, including two in a row from Dockery on a kill and a block, to lead 17-11. Georgia’s timeout didn’t phase the Jayhawk offense as kills from Dockery and Soucie led Kansas on a 9-1 run to pull away 20-12. They wouldn’t look back. After two kills from McClinton, the Jayhawks won the set 25-18 and swept the match 3-0.  
 
SCHEDULE
-Friday: vs. North Dakota State: W, 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18)
-Friday: vs. Georgia: W, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-18)
-Sunday: vs. Notre Dame – 1 p.m.
 
NOTES
– Senior libero Brianne Riley’s 11 digs to moved her closer to seventh all-time on the Big 12 Conference’s career digs list (1,730), nearing former Kansas State star Lauren Mathewson (1,755; 2007-10).
– Riley now has double-digit digs in 38-consecutive matches.
– Redshirt senior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc’s 1,116 career kills are the second-most among current Big 12 players. She trails fellow senior Kaitlynn Pelger from Kansas State.
– Jarmoc’s three blocks pulled her closer to the KU all-time blocks leader. Her 470 career blocks ranks second only to Amanda Reves (514; 1996-99).
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will conclude the Kansas Invitational on Sunday against Notre Dame. First serve is set for 1 p.m. Notre Dame, North Dakota State and Georgia will all be in action on Saturday.
 
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