19 days ago Georgia Athletics
Photo: Georgia Athletics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Georgia women’s volleyball team won a three-set sweep of the 11th-ranked Florida Gators at Exactech Arena on Wednesday night (25-22, 25-23, 25- 20), the Bulldogs’ first SEC sweep of the season.
This is the fourth win over a ranked opponent under head coach Tom Black, the last against then-No. 5 Florida on Nov. 20, 2020. This is the first time Georgia has swept a ranked opponent since Nov. 27. 1993 (No. 12 Kentucky in the SEC Tournament in Birmingham).
“The team played hard and stuck together,” Black said after the game. “I think our service and the offense from our setters made the difference tonight. Florida is a great team and we’re happy to come away with a good result.”
Senior Kacie Evans paced the offense with 16 kills in the game, adding six blocks with five digs. Her fellow senior, Amber Stivrins, recorded nine kills, while young Sophie Fischer scored eight.
Fischer had nine blocks in the match while freshman Tori Harper had four. Second-year libero Bailey Cox made 10 moves in the three-set match.
As a team, the Bulldogs established five serving aces, two by redshirt sophomore Mackenzie Norris. Georgia blocked the Gators 11-9. Georgia limited Florida to a .090 batting average. After falling behind 3-0 early in the game, the Bulldogs (13-5, 4-3) went on an 8-0 run to capture a quick five-point lead in the first stanza. The run featured two service aces from Norris and a pair of spikes from Evans. Four direct hits by the Dogs, capped off by Evans’ back-to-back kills, sparked the second half off the set for Florida, 18-12. Florida responded with three straight points to cut Georgia’s lead in half and force a timeout for Bulldog, 19-16. The Gators fought back to take a 22-21 lead, forcing Georgia’s final timeout. The Bulldogs regrouped and won the next four rallies to take the set 25-22. Evans finished the first set with seven kills while Stivrins had four, hitting .667.
Florida (15-4, 7-2) took a quick 5-0 lead in the second set and continued to increase the lead, exhausting both Georgia timeouts at 12-6. The Bulldogs battled back, using a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 15-13. Trailing 17-14, four straight points put Georgia ahead for the first time in the set, 18-17, when Florida called its final timeout. Georgia tied and took the lead in consecutive blocks. Georgia extended the streak to six to score 20 points first, 20-17. After Stivrins earned a set point, 24-19, Florida made a late push with a 4-0 run, but Georgia held on to take the set 25-23 on Stivrins’ eighth kill of the match.
Georgia used a six-point run to go ahead 7-3 in the third, prompting an early timeout from the Florida bench. The Gators responded by tying it up at 7-7. A back-and-forth battle ensued when the set was tied at 13. A 6-1 run opened up a 19-14 lead for the Bulldogs. Georgia kept their foot on the gas to take the set 25-20, winning the match with a solo block from Norris, completing the sweep.
Until next time
Georgia hosts Alabama this weekend in a two-game series at Stegeman Coliseum. Saturday’s first service is scheduled for 2 pm between the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide. Sunday’s SEC Network match will kick off at 12 pm from Stegeman.
Source: news.google.com