No. 25 Argos Edge West Georgia, 3-1
Argos Improve to 6-1 in GSC Play
Related Item: Box Score
CARROLLTON, Ga.. – The No. 25 Argonauts of West Florida faced a tougher-than-expected challenge on Saturday afternoon, but they prevailed in the end, downing West Georgia, 3-1. The win completes a weekend sweep for UWF against Gulf South Conference opponents.
West Florida (19-6, 6-1 GSC) was tested in each of the match’s four sets, even dropping a frame to the underdog Wolves (6-21, 1-6 GSC). West Florida easily swept UWG when the teams played their first meeting, on September 25 in Pensacola.
That was not the case on Saturday, as West Georgia held at least a three-point lead in each set and captured the third set from the first-place Argonauts. UWF hit just .172 on the day.
Katie Johnson paced the Argos with 14 kills, while Chelsea Wilhoite added 13 and Chandler Carney scored 11. Mailande Parker featured in the final two sets, tallying six kills. Molly Pearce had a team-high 24 assists while adding 16 digs, and Anna Stoecklein led the defensive effort with 17 digs.
West Georgia outhit UWF, ending with a .175 hitting percentage. Jasmine Dotson, Mary Krueger and Lisa Ogide each had ten kills, while Dotson tallied an astounding 27 digs.
The Wolves stormed in front in the first set, building a 10-3 advantage on a kill from Krueger. But West Florida hung tough and finally took their first lead on a kill from Johnson at 16-15. UWF finished off the comeback with the set’s final three points, including a clinching kill from Wilhoite to make the score 25-20.
The home team again pulled in front at the start of game two. An ace by Reagin Boggs pushed the UWG lead to 8-5, but against the Argonauts mounted a rally. An error on UWG’s Mandy Black finally gave West Florida a 13-12 lead, and they ended the set on a 5-0 run to take a 25-21 win. Wilhoite and Johnson ended the frame on back-to-back kills.
The underdog West Georgia team finally broke through in the third game, however. An 8-0 run, helped greatly by three UWF errors and two Emily Reul kills, gave the Wolves an insurmountable 12-3 bulge. After allowing UWF to chip away at their lead, the home team finally ended the frame a kill from Ogide, winning the set by a 25-19 count.
The Wolves again started in fine fashion as the fourth set got under way. Dotson posted a monster kill early in the set, giving UWG an 8-5 lead, and later Reul blasted a kill to make the score 10-7. But the prospect of an upset loss woke up Melissa Wolter’s team, and they owned the match from that point forward. Johnson smashed a kill to give UWF a 12-11 advantage, and later she ended the match with her final kill of the night, giving the Argos a 25-20 fourth-set win.
Abby Timmer led all players with five blocks, while Carney and Kara Gonzalez (one solo) had four each. The Argonauts and Wolves each finished with ten team blocks.
Tricia Tirabassi finished the night with 21 UWF assists. Boggs had 18 to lead the Wolves.
West Florida will take on day off before hosting West Alabama on Monday night in their first annual “Black-Out Match”. Fans who attend the game are encouraged to wear black as they cheer on the Argonauts. Match time is scheduled for 7 pm.
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