University of Georgia Athletics
Wednesday, October 3
Auburn, Ala.
7 p.m.
University of Georgia
12-4, 3-2
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Auburn
8-7, 1-4
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Georgia
24
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Auburn
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Photo by: Kristin M. Bradshaw
Bulldogs Rally to Defeat Tigers in Five Sets
October 03, 2018 | Volleyball
AUBURN, Ala. – The Georgia volleyball team (12-4, 3-2) rallied late in Wednesday's match to defeat Auburn (8-7, 1-4) in a five-set thriller at Auburn Arena (24-26, 25-12, 22-25, 25-21, 20-18).
Rachel Ritchie led the offense with 25 kills followed by 23 from T'ara Ceasar. Ceasar recorded her second double-double in a row, also tallying 14 digs (tying a season high). Mallory Hernandez also tipped the double-digit kill mark with 10 in the match.
Meghan Donovan recorded a career-best 62 assists and tied a career-high 19 digs for her seventh double-double. Defensively, Georgia had five players with double-digit kills. Donovan co-led the team with Kendall Glover, also with 19. Aside from Ceasar's 14, Sydney Gilliam put up 13 (career high) and Claire Rothenberger had 11.
Auburn took an early 7-2 lead in the first set, prompting the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Georgia opened a 4-0 run out of the timeout to pull within one, 7-6. The set continued much like it started, Auburn would open a lead, Georgia found a way to close the gap. The Tigers drew set point at 24-21 but the Bulldogs won the next three points to tie it up. Auburn captured the next two points to claim the opening set, 26-24. Ceasar paced the offense with five kills in the opening frame.
Georgia opened the second set with a 4-1 lead, a lead it never relinquished in in the set. The Bulldogs used a 3-0 run to widen its lead to 15-8 going into the media timeout. Back-to-back kills by Dononvan shortly after prompted an Auburn timeout at 17-9. Georgia found its largest lead of the set at 21-10 following a four-point run. The Bulldogs wrapped up the set with a 25-15 victory. Ritchie led all attackers with five kills. As a team, UGA hit .367 in the second.
It was Auburn that took an early advantage in the third set, going up 4-1. Georgia closed the gap, tying the set at 6. Tied at 9, Auburn won 10 of the next 12 points to open a 19-11 lead. Georgia responded with four straight to prompt a timeout from the other side. With the Bulldogs bearing down and closing in, Auburn used its final timeout with Georgia only behind by two, 22-20. The tigers drew set point by siding out after the timeout, 24-20. Kills from Ceasar and Kianna Young cut the lead to 24-22 but a kill by Brenna McIlroy sealed the set for Auburn, 25-22. Ceasar contributed six kills in the third. Dononvan's double-double came in the third set, entering the fourth with 33 assists and 11 digs.
The fourth set was the closest of the match as it featured 12 ties and six lead changes. Down 15-13, Georgia used three-straight points to regain the lead, 16-15. Tied at 17, Georgia used a key sideout followed shortly by a 5-0 run to draw set point, 24-18. Auburn won the next three, prompting a timeout from the Georgia bench. Ritchie's 18thkill concluded the fourth set, forcing a deciding fifth. Ritchie tallied seven kills in the fourth set alone.
The match concluded with a thrilling, back-and-forth fifth set. Auburn took an early 4-1 lead, prompting a timeout from Georgia. The Bulldogs worked to tie it at 5, then again at 7. Down 8-7, the Bulldogs sided out to capture its first lead. Another sideout had Georgia in front 11-9 only to be tied up at again at 11. Georgia drew match point at 14-12 but Auburn stayed alive, tying the set. The teams began trading points. Georgia drew match point two more times before Auburn sided out to draw match point, 17-16, and prompting Georgia to use its final timeout. Another sideout by Georgia put the advantage back with the Bulldogs, 18-17. After Auburn tied it back up at 18, back-to-back kills by Ritchie and Ceasar secured the win for Georgia, 20-18.
Georgia continues its road swing with a matchup at #11 Florida on Sunday on the SEC Network. First serve is set for 1 p.m. from Gainesville, Florida.
Head Coach Tom Black
On the team's performance on the road…
"I thought the ladies showed a lot of growth. I think it's the most composure we've shown in such a hard-fought match. It was great to see that grit and something we can really grow from."
On the performance from T'ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie…
"I thought T'ara and Rachel both came up big and Meghan [Donovan] was able to give them the ball. I think we dug a log of balls which led to them getting swings. We also want to keep working on the balance. As the year goes on, we want to keep diversifying our offense; but great job by our offense taking big swings."
On five players reaching double-digit kills…
"I thought they did a great job; they got their eyes going and again, they were just really, really scrappy; not so much in the first part of the first set but then they made a change and I think as the match went on, they got better and better. That's a huge reason we were able to get the number of swings we were."
On this as a morale boost for the Bulldogs…
"We've been in so many of these battles and a bunch of them haven't gone our way but we've grown through all of them. I think that's part of what led to this. I think the next time we get in one of these kinds of battles, we're going to have more composure and even more 'us.'"
Rachel Ritchie led the offense with 25 kills followed by 23 from T'ara Ceasar. Ceasar recorded her second double-double in a row, also tallying 14 digs (tying a season high). Mallory Hernandez also tipped the double-digit kill mark with 10 in the match.
Meghan Donovan recorded a career-best 62 assists and tied a career-high 19 digs for her seventh double-double. Defensively, Georgia had five players with double-digit kills. Donovan co-led the team with Kendall Glover, also with 19. Aside from Ceasar's 14, Sydney Gilliam put up 13 (career high) and Claire Rothenberger had 11.
.@TaraCeasar2 sat down with the @ESPNU crew following tonight's big win at Auburn.
— Georgia Volleyball 🏐 (@UGAVolleyball) October 4, 2018
🎞 https://t.co/qDnqLy7WNO#GROW | #GoDawgs
Auburn took an early 7-2 lead in the first set, prompting the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Georgia opened a 4-0 run out of the timeout to pull within one, 7-6. The set continued much like it started, Auburn would open a lead, Georgia found a way to close the gap. The Tigers drew set point at 24-21 but the Bulldogs won the next three points to tie it up. Auburn captured the next two points to claim the opening set, 26-24. Ceasar paced the offense with five kills in the opening frame.
Georgia opened the second set with a 4-1 lead, a lead it never relinquished in in the set. The Bulldogs used a 3-0 run to widen its lead to 15-8 going into the media timeout. Back-to-back kills by Dononvan shortly after prompted an Auburn timeout at 17-9. Georgia found its largest lead of the set at 21-10 following a four-point run. The Bulldogs wrapped up the set with a 25-15 victory. Ritchie led all attackers with five kills. As a team, UGA hit .367 in the second.
It was Auburn that took an early advantage in the third set, going up 4-1. Georgia closed the gap, tying the set at 6. Tied at 9, Auburn won 10 of the next 12 points to open a 19-11 lead. Georgia responded with four straight to prompt a timeout from the other side. With the Bulldogs bearing down and closing in, Auburn used its final timeout with Georgia only behind by two, 22-20. The tigers drew set point by siding out after the timeout, 24-20. Kills from Ceasar and Kianna Young cut the lead to 24-22 but a kill by Brenna McIlroy sealed the set for Auburn, 25-22. Ceasar contributed six kills in the third. Dononvan's double-double came in the third set, entering the fourth with 33 assists and 11 digs.
The fourth set was the closest of the match as it featured 12 ties and six lead changes. Down 15-13, Georgia used three-straight points to regain the lead, 16-15. Tied at 17, Georgia used a key sideout followed shortly by a 5-0 run to draw set point, 24-18. Auburn won the next three, prompting a timeout from the Georgia bench. Ritchie's 18thkill concluded the fourth set, forcing a deciding fifth. Ritchie tallied seven kills in the fourth set alone.
The match concluded with a thrilling, back-and-forth fifth set. Auburn took an early 4-1 lead, prompting a timeout from Georgia. The Bulldogs worked to tie it at 5, then again at 7. Down 8-7, the Bulldogs sided out to capture its first lead. Another sideout had Georgia in front 11-9 only to be tied up at again at 11. Georgia drew match point at 14-12 but Auburn stayed alive, tying the set. The teams began trading points. Georgia drew match point two more times before Auburn sided out to draw match point, 17-16, and prompting Georgia to use its final timeout. Another sideout by Georgia put the advantage back with the Bulldogs, 18-17. After Auburn tied it back up at 18, back-to-back kills by Ritchie and Ceasar secured the win for Georgia, 20-18.
Georgia continues its road swing with a matchup at #11 Florida on Sunday on the SEC Network. First serve is set for 1 p.m. from Gainesville, Florida.
Head Coach Tom Black
On the team's performance on the road…
"I thought the ladies showed a lot of growth. I think it's the most composure we've shown in such a hard-fought match. It was great to see that grit and something we can really grow from."
On the performance from T'ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie…
"I thought T'ara and Rachel both came up big and Meghan [Donovan] was able to give them the ball. I think we dug a log of balls which led to them getting swings. We also want to keep working on the balance. As the year goes on, we want to keep diversifying our offense; but great job by our offense taking big swings."
On five players reaching double-digit kills…
"I thought they did a great job; they got their eyes going and again, they were just really, really scrappy; not so much in the first part of the first set but then they made a change and I think as the match went on, they got better and better. That's a huge reason we were able to get the number of swings we were."
On this as a morale boost for the Bulldogs…
"We've been in so many of these battles and a bunch of them haven't gone our way but we've grown through all of them. I think that's part of what led to this. I think the next time we get in one of these kinds of battles, we're going to have more composure and even more 'us.'"
Team Stats
UG
AU
Kills
73
56
Errors
32
19
Attempts
187
173
Hitting %
.219
.214
Points
87.0
74.0
Assists
71
54
Aces
7
6
Blocks
7.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills
25
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
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