Georgia, #11 Florida Meet on SEC Network Sunday

Georgia (12-4, 3-2)
at #11 Florida (13-3, 4-0)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Arena: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center

Media Information
TV: SEC Network (Same Gore, Dain Blanton)
Streaming Video: ESPN.com
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com

Twitter Updates: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball (12-4, 3-2) continues its road stretch with a matchup at #11 Florida (13-3, 4-0) on Sunday. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. on the SEC Network from Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Follow the Bulldogs
• Sunday's match will air nationally on the SEC Network. Sam Gore will provide play-by-play as Dain Blanton will provide analysis.
• The match will be streamed live via WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
• Live stats will be available. Links can be found on the volleyball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
• Twitter updates will be available all season long on the official Twitter page of Georgia volleyball, @UGAvolleyball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series History
• Florida leads the series 63-9.
• Georgia has lost 60 of the last 61 meetings with the Gators. The lone win came on Oct. 26, 2008 in five sets.
• Florida has swept the Bulldogs in the last 12 meetings.
• In last season's match, Georgia dropped a close second set 25-23 and took Florida to extra points in the third, 27-25.
• Georgia won eight of the first 11 matches of the series from 1978-1990.

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia's road swing concludes with a rematch against LSU in Baton Rouge Oct. 10. The match at LSU is set for a 9 p.m., ET, first serve on ESPNU. Georgia will return home to host Texas A&M on Oct. 14. The rematch with the Aggies will be Georgia's annual Dig Pink match at Stegeman Coliseum.

Let's Recap
The Bulldogs went on the road for a matchup at Auburn on Wednesday. The Bulldogs and Tigers went back and forth, eventually coming to Georgia's fourth five-set match in just five SEC matches. The fifth set was close, featuring 11 ties and four lead changes. Georgia prevailed in the end, 20-18, to pick up its second SEC road win. The win snapped four-straight losses to the Tigers. 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). 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.

All Hail Ceasar
T'ara Ceasar hasn't skipped a beat after a breakout freshman campaign. The sophomore ranks 24th nationally, fourth in the league, with 4.31 kills per set. Her 273 total kills ranks second in the SEC and 17th in the country. She has scored 4.84 points per sent, a figure that ranks fifth in the SEC and 21st in NCAA.

Helping Hands
Junior setter Meghan Donovan's 11.37 assists per set ranks 13th in the country while leading the SEC in the category. In the match at Ole Miss on Sept. 28, Donovan notched her 3,000th-career assist. She became only the seventh Bulldog setter to tip the 3,000-assist mark in her career. Her 10.64 assists/set in her career ranks 12th among active Division I setters. She recorded a new career-best 62 assists at Aubrun on Oct. 3. As a team, Georgia leads the conference with 12.98 assists per set. In the country, the Bulldogs rank 35th.

The Steg is rockin'
Georgia ranks fourth in the SEC with an average attendance of 1,410 per match. That figure also cracks the top 30 in the country for average attendance. So far this season, 7,052 have flocked to Stegeman Coliseum to cheer on Georgia volleyball.

Missed It By That Much...
All four of Georgia's losses on the season have come in five sets. In three of the four fifth sets, Georgia has lost by three points with the exception of the Texas A&M match (15-9).

Aces Wild
Georgia ranks 28th in the country, second in the SEC, with 1.66 aces per set. The Bulldogs have picked up where they left off a season ago at the service line as they averaged 1.57 aces per set to lead the league. Against Texas Tech, Kendall Glover tied a Georgia rally scoring record with seven aces in a three-set match.

Georgia in Non-Conference Play
The Bulldogs concluded non-conference play 9-2 including five sweeps. Georgia's lone losses came in five-set matches. As a team, Georgia hit .254 against its opponents with 13.83 kills per set. The non-conference season was highlighted by a victory over then-#24 Colorado. Georgia won three of four tournaments. T'ara Ceasar earned two MVP titles while Meghan Donovan had one. Donovan was named SEC Setter of the Week three times during the non-conference span.

AVCA Top 25 Poll
The Bulldogs received votes three AVCA Top 25 Coaches Polls this season. Georgia last cracked the Top 25 in 1995, achieving a season-high ranking of 22. The highest the Bulldogs have ever been ranked was #13 in 1993.

Donovan Earns Third Setter of the Week
For the third time this season, Meghan Donovan has been named the SEC Setter of the Week. The St. Louis native dished out 12.3 assists per set at the Georgia Tech Classic, running a Bulldog offense that hit .298 in eight sets played. In the five-set loss to Georgia Tech, Donovan recorded a new career-best 57 assists. In the fourth set of the match, Georgia hit .593 to force a fifth set after being down 2-0. In Saturday's sweep of NC State, Donovan recorded 42 assists, a season-high for a three-set match. Georgia also had a season-best .328 hitting percentage against the Wolfpack.

Donovan, Ceasar Earn SEC Honors
Meghan Donovan (Player/Setter of the Week) and T'ara Ceasar (Offensive Player of the Week) each earned recognition from the SEC for their efforts at the Buffs Invitational. Donovan dished out 11.7 assists per set and ran an offense that hit .202 on the weekend. In Friday's match at #24 Colorado, she tied a career-best 56 assists as the Bulldogs hit .287. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season in Saturday's match against Oklahoma with 50 assists and 12 digs. She finished the weekend with 25 digs (1.92 digs/set). She also contributed nine blocks on the weekend. Ceasar earned her first SEC Offensive Player of the Week award of her career. The Buffs Invitational MVP recorded 4.38 kills per set over the weekend. The weekend started with Ceasar recording 22 kills (tying season high) while hitting .362 in the win over #24 Colorado. In Saturday's match against Oklahoma, she tallied 21 kills with 13 digs for her third double-double of the season.

A Perfect Start... Again
Georgia last opened a season 7-0 in 2016, when it opened 8-0. That was also Georgia's last winning streak of seven or more matches. UGA has opened a season 6-0 or better seven times in its history.

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Players Mentioned

Meghan Donovan

Sydney Gilliam

Kendall Glover

Rachel Ritchie

Claire Rothenberger

University of Georgia Athletics