University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware Volleyball Wins CAA Home Opener With 3-0 Victory Over Georgia State
9/29/2012 6:00:00 PM | Volleyball
The Blue Hens, who improved to 5-11 overall and 1-1 in the conference, won by set scores of 25-17, 25-19, and 25-20. The Panthers dropped their seventh consecutive match while falling to 2-14 overall and 0-4 in league play. Delaware improved to 8-5 all-time against Georgia State, and has now taken six of the last seven meetings between the schools.
Alker (at right) posted a match-best 14 kills and committed just three attack errors to hit .297 on the night. Junior Katie Hank contributed nine kills on the evening, while senior Chelsea Lawrence chipped in with seven kills. The Blue Hens hit .179 during the match, while limiting Georgia State to just a .081 hitting percentage.
Freshman setter Mackenzie Olsen handed out a game-high 31 assists on the night, while fellow rookie Ariel Shonk led UD defensive effort with 19 digs.
Dede Bohannon paced the Panthers with eight kills, while Jamiee Freeman and Eliza Zachary each contributed seven.
The teams were tied at 5-5 early in the first set, before the Blue Hens ran off four straight points to take the lead. The Panthers rallied to tie the set at 10-10, but another four-point UD run gave the Blue Hens the lead for good. After Georgia State pulled within three, a five-point Delaware surge make it a 23-15 game, while a service ace by Lawrence put the set away. The Blue Hens picked up where they left off in the second set, scoring five of the first six points to take a 5-1 advantage. The Panthers eventually pulled even at 13-13, but Delaware quickly answered with three consecutive points and led the rest of the way. The margin grew to as much as six at 23-17, with game point coming on a ball-handling error by the Panthers' Emily Averbeck.
The third set remained tight early on, until a three-point Blue Hen run increased Delaware's advantage to 12-8. The lead remained between two and four points for most of the set, until kills by Alker and Chandler Bryant made the score 22-17. The Panthers closed to within four, but Alker recorded a kill off an Olsen assist to end the match.
Delaware, which has now won 28 of its last 30 CAA home matches, closes out its three-match homestand on Tuesday when the Blue Hens host Delaware State in the Route 1 Rivalry at 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.
