Friday, August 30
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4:00 PM
UCLA
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No. 14 Georgia Tech
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UCLA
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Georgia Tech
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Photo by: Georgia Tech Athletics
UCLA Takes Down No. 14 Georgia Tech in Five-Set Thriller
August 30, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
ATLANTA – The UCLA women's volleyball team earned a statement victory to open its 2024 season, snatching a decisive fifth set 16-14 to down No. 14 Georgia Tech inside a packed O'Keefe Gymnasium on Friday night.
Set scores were 25-20, 11-25, 10-25, 25-19, and 16-14.
Finishing the 2023 season with a record of 12-5 on the road, the Bruins continued their impressive form away from Westwood by prevailing in a back-and-forth fifth set. The Yellow Jackets fought off a match point before UCLA turned to its three-time All-Pac 12 honoree, Anna Dodson, to deliver the go-ahead kill to give her team a one-point advantage. A bad set from Georgia Tech sealed the victory for head coach Alfee Reft and his squad.
The Bruins improve to 50-5 all-time in season openers dating back to 1970-71 when official UCLA records began.
Freshman outside hitter Kiki Horne stole the show with a team-high 12 kills in her UCLA debut. The Bruins also received a career performance from their experienced graduate setter Audrey Pak. The Moraga, Calif. native handed out 31 assists and a career-high 20 digs to begin her last season in the Blue and Gold with a double-double.
UCLA enjoyed a blistering start to the contest when junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette put down seven of her 10 kills in the opening set. Graduate middle hitter Leilani Dodson capped her first frame as a Bruin with the set-clinching kill. UCLA hit .464 as a team in the first set, committing just two attack errors.
The nationally-ranked Yellow Jackets answered by winning each of the next two sets while the Bruins fell out of sync, hitting -.129 in set two and .097 in set three.
Leverette suffered an injury scare in the second set which created opportunities for Horne and freshman Anastasija Ivkovic to make an impact at the outside hitter position. Horne finished with a team-high 12 kills in her collegiate debut while Ivkovic impressed on both ends by knocking down seven kills and snuffing out six digs.
The fourth set saw some more outstanding contributions from the freshman class when Brooklyn Briscoe – also making her UCLA debut – came up with an important kill to spark an 8-3 scoring run, forcing a Georgia Tech timeout. Horne struck for three kills and Ivkovic dealt a pair of service aces to power the Bruins to a 14-7 advantage. The hosts whittled that lead to just three points, but Pak and Grayce Olson got in on the action with a pair of kills to force a decisive fifth set.
UCLA raced to a 3-0 lead in the final frame behind a solo block from Briscoe and a timely kill by Olson. Georgia Tech answered with a three-point run of their own to even things up. Olson and A. Dodson came up with some monster kills to keep the Yellow Jackets at bay. Horne delivered her 12th kill of the match and Leverette made a heroic return from injury to knock down a crucial kill, making it a two-point advantage (12-10), but another surge from Georgia Tech brought the score to 13-13.
Olson connected for a kill to force match point and the hosts managed to survive, evening the score once again by matching with a kill of their own. UCLA used the experience of A. Dodson to get the job done as the middle blocker knocked down her seventh kill before Georgia Tech committed a bad set on the final point to allow the Bruins to grab a thrilling victory to begin the 2024 campaign.
UCLA will cap the GT Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 9 a.m. (PT) with a matchup against Coastal Carolina. The match will not be streamed, but fans can follow live stats at uclalivestats.com.
Set scores were 25-20, 11-25, 10-25, 25-19, and 16-14.
Finishing the 2023 season with a record of 12-5 on the road, the Bruins continued their impressive form away from Westwood by prevailing in a back-and-forth fifth set. The Yellow Jackets fought off a match point before UCLA turned to its three-time All-Pac 12 honoree, Anna Dodson, to deliver the go-ahead kill to give her team a one-point advantage. A bad set from Georgia Tech sealed the victory for head coach Alfee Reft and his squad.
The Bruins improve to 50-5 all-time in season openers dating back to 1970-71 when official UCLA records began.
Freshman outside hitter Kiki Horne stole the show with a team-high 12 kills in her UCLA debut. The Bruins also received a career performance from their experienced graduate setter Audrey Pak. The Moraga, Calif. native handed out 31 assists and a career-high 20 digs to begin her last season in the Blue and Gold with a double-double.
UCLA enjoyed a blistering start to the contest when junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette put down seven of her 10 kills in the opening set. Graduate middle hitter Leilani Dodson capped her first frame as a Bruin with the set-clinching kill. UCLA hit .464 as a team in the first set, committing just two attack errors.
?????????? ?????????? in her home state??
— UCLA Women's Volleyball (@UCLAWomensVB) August 30, 2024
Cheridyn has 7 kills!
??ACC Network Extra
??https://t.co/kH8ou1TkkQ#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/LzMH3k6Zcq
The nationally-ranked Yellow Jackets answered by winning each of the next two sets while the Bruins fell out of sync, hitting -.129 in set two and .097 in set three.
Leverette suffered an injury scare in the second set which created opportunities for Horne and freshman Anastasija Ivkovic to make an impact at the outside hitter position. Horne finished with a team-high 12 kills in her collegiate debut while Ivkovic impressed on both ends by knocking down seven kills and snuffing out six digs.
The fourth set saw some more outstanding contributions from the freshman class when Brooklyn Briscoe – also making her UCLA debut – came up with an important kill to spark an 8-3 scoring run, forcing a Georgia Tech timeout. Horne struck for three kills and Ivkovic dealt a pair of service aces to power the Bruins to a 14-7 advantage. The hosts whittled that lead to just three points, but Pak and Grayce Olson got in on the action with a pair of kills to force a decisive fifth set.
UCLA raced to a 3-0 lead in the final frame behind a solo block from Briscoe and a timely kill by Olson. Georgia Tech answered with a three-point run of their own to even things up. Olson and A. Dodson came up with some monster kills to keep the Yellow Jackets at bay. Horne delivered her 12th kill of the match and Leverette made a heroic return from injury to knock down a crucial kill, making it a two-point advantage (12-10), but another surge from Georgia Tech brought the score to 13-13.
Kiki Horne...???????? ???? ???????? ??????????
— UCLA Women's Volleyball (@UCLAWomensVB) August 31, 2024
Team-high 12 kills for the freshman, and none bigger than this one!
??ACC Network Extra
??https://t.co/kH8ou1TkkQ#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/xj5NcOsRDF
Olson connected for a kill to force match point and the hosts managed to survive, evening the score once again by matching with a kill of their own. UCLA used the experience of A. Dodson to get the job done as the middle blocker knocked down her seventh kill before Georgia Tech committed a bad set on the final point to allow the Bruins to grab a thrilling victory to begin the 2024 campaign.
UCLA will cap the GT Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 9 a.m. (PT) with a matchup against Coastal Carolina. The match will not be streamed, but fans can follow live stats at uclalivestats.com.
Team Stats
UCLA
GaTech
Kills
51
57
Errors
25
22
Attempts
152
151
Hitting %
.171
.232
Points
66.0
80.5
Assists
48
57
Aces
3
9
Blocks
12
14.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
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