Bulldogs Play #24 Missouri Close in Four-Set Loss

Sunday, November 11

Columbia, Mo.

2 p.m.

University of Georgia

13-12 (4-10SEC)

Missouri

22-5 (12-3SEC)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Georgia	24	25	25	21	1
Mizzou	26	22	27	25	3

Photo by: Lauren Tolbert

November 11, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Missouri Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Georgia volleyball dropped a close four-set match at #24 Missouri Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena (24-26, 25-22, 25-27, 21-25).

The match featured 28 ties and the lead changed a total of 15 times in the final road match of the season for Georgia (13-12, 4-10).

Rachel Ritchie led the offense with 15 kills while Majesti Bass was close behind with 14. Mallory Hernandez picked up 11 kills in the contest with a pair of service aces, the firsts of her career.

"Mallory gave us a huge lift offensively and behind the service line to complement our middle hitters," said head coach Tom Black. "We just gave up too many points in serve receive. It was a hard-fought match and we had our chances. We have a resilient group of young women and I'm not just tossing that word around. Most teams would have quit a month ago. We'll get back to work."

Ritchie earned her second double-double of the season with 14 digs to complement her 15 kills. Claire Rothenberger tied a season-high 18 digs. The Bulldogs had 13 team blocks, led by eight each from Anna Kate Karstens and Kianna Young (career high).

An early 11-1 run by the Bulldogs opened a 12-3 lead in the first stanza. The offense began firing on four-straight kills from Hernandez. The freshman also recorded two aces, the second brining the lead to nine. Missouri wasted no time getting back in the set, using a 7-1 run to cut the lead to three and force a timeout from Georgia. Mizzou won three of the next four rallies after the timeout to cut the lead to one, 14-13. A 4-0 run gave Missouri a 20-19 lead followed by three-straight from Georgia to recapture a 22-20 advantage. With Georgia up 23-21, Missouri won three-straight to draw set point, 24-23. A Tiger service error tied it up, but Missouri wrapped it up in extra points, 26-24. Hernandez had six kills in the opening set with two aces while hitting .556.

Once again, Georgia came out strong in the second set, opening a 9-5 lead on the Tigers; however, a 5-0 run by Missouri put the Tigers in front 10-9. The teams proceeded to go back-and-forth before a 4-0 Georgia run put the Bulldogs ahead 18-16 and force a timeout from the Missouri bench. Once again, the teams went point-for-point to a 22-22 draw. The Bulldogs won the next three rallies to win the second set and tie up the match, 25-22. At the end of the second set, Hernandez led the Bulldogs with nine kills with Ritchie at eight.

The third set started close, but Georgia began opening a lead on the Tigers. A 6-1 run by the Bulldogs put Georgia ahead 14-8. Missouri responded with three straight followed by a timeout from Georgia. The Bulldogs came out of the timeout winning six-of-seven rallies to build on the lead, 20-12. Missouri began chipping away at the lead, cutting it to four and forcing a timeout from Georgia, 22-18. Georgia drew set point, 24-20; however, Missouri went on a 5-0 run to draw set point of its own, 25-24. Young picked up a kill to retie it, but the advancing Tigers stole the set, 27-25, to take a 2-1 lead.

A 4-0 run by Georgia put the Bulldogs ahead 9-8 in the fourth but Missouri responded with a 7-1 run to go ahead 15-10. Four straight from Georgia immediately after cut the lead to one, 15-14. Missouri was able to stay in front en route to a 25-21 win in the fourth to win the match.

Georgia returns home to host the final four matches of the season. The Bulldogs host Auburn on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.