Bulldogs Take #11 Gators to Five Sets in Sunday’s Loss

Sunday, October 7

Gainesville, Fla.

1 p.m.

University of Georgia

12-5, 3-3SEC

Florida

15-3, 6-0SEC

Georgia

Photo by: Kristin M. Bradshaw

Bulldogs Take #11 Gators to Five Sets in Sunday’s Loss

October 07, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Florida Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Georgia volleyball (12-5, 3-3) held a 2-1 set lead over #11 Florida (14-3, 6-0) Sunday but the Gators prevailed in the five-set match at Exactech Arena (13-25, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 9-15).

"We're getting better," head coach Tom Black remarked. "It's never as clean or as fast as we want it to be. We're going to continue working. The team fought hard and improved throughout the match. We got stuck in a couple rotations in sets four and five and we'll take the lessons and get back to work quickly."

T'ara Ceasar tallied 17 kills while Rachel Ritchie picked up 13 on the afternoon. Kianna Young recorded a new career-best 12 kills with a .286 hitting clip.

For the second match in a row, Georgia had four or more players with double-digit digs. Ceasar's 19 digs led the team, also notching her seventh double-double of the season, 16^thof her career. Kendall Glover had 13, Sydney Gilliam had 12, and Claire Rothenberger had 10 in Gainesville.

On the net, Georgia had a season-high 11 team blocks. Majesti Bass had eight blocks with eight kills on Sunday. Meghan Donovan had six blocks with 47 assists.

The first set opened very close but it wasn't long before Florida won 11 of 12 points to take a 14-5 lead on the Bulldogs. Georgia began to fire the offense late in the set, but Florida's lead was too great as the Gators won the first set, 25-13.

Georgia regrouped and came out strong in the second set. Florida opened a 6-3 lead, but Georgia responded with three-straight to tie it up. Down 9-7, the Bulldogs used a 5-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. The lead didn't last long as Florida came back with four-straight. A 7-0 Georgia run later began to sperate the Bulldogs and Gators, 20-14. An ace by Glover drew set point for the Bulldogs, 24-18. Florida won four-straight to pull within two but a kill from Young sealed the second set for the Bulldogs, 25-22.

The second set win over the Gators was the first set Georgia has won against Florida since Oct. 17, 2010, snapping a 12-match sweep streak by the Gators.

The Bulldogs opened the third set 6-2 and never relinquished the lead in the frame. A 4-0 run helped bolster a 13-6 advantage for the Bulldogs. Florida used five-straight to pull within two at 14-12 but Georgia turned around with four-straight of its own, 19-13. The Gators made it close late, but Georgia prevailed in the third to take a 2-1 lead in the match, 25-22.

Florida came out strong in set fourth and constantly kept the Bulldogs battling back. The set featured six ties. Down 11-8, a 4-0 run by Georgia put the Bulldogs ahead 12-11 but Florida responded with six points to retake a 17-12 lead. Back-to-back aces by Ritchie cut the Gator lead to 21-20 but Florida was able to fend off the Bulldogs to a 25-21 set four win, forcing a fifth set.

The first half of the fifth set was close, as the set was tied four times. Tied at seven, Florida rattled off six-straight points to go ahead 13-7. Georgia sided out to break the run but Florida wrapped it up with the next two serves, 15-9.

Georgia will conclude its road stretch with a matchup at LSU Wednesday in Baton Rouge. First serve on ESPNU is set for 9 p.m., ET.