University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
13-13, 4-11
Auburn
11-15, 4-12
Georgia Drops Match to Auburn, 3-0
November 15, 2018 | Volleyball
PDF Box Score Attached
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia volleyball team fell to Auburn in three sets, 3-0 (24-26, 14-25, 27-29), at Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday evening.
Freshman Mallory Hernandez led the Bulldogs with 14 kills, a season-high for the Fishers, Indiana native. Senior Anna Kate Karstens and sophomore Rachel Ritchie followed with seven and six kills, respectively.
"I thought the fight was definitely there," said Georgia head coach Tom Black. "We gave up some big leads but fought our way back. I think our good plays were good but those need to happen more often, and there were some unforced errors we need to clean up. We'll get to work on those."
Hernandez's back-to-back kills started the first set off strong for the Bulldogs to notch the first two points of the match. Georgia maintained a safe lead before the Tigers went on a 4-1 run to tie it up at 12. Back-and-forth play evened the contest before Auburn put up a 5-0 run, widening their lead to 21-17 before a pair of kills sealed the set at 26-24.
The Tigers gained the early advantage after winning four points before senior Sydney Gilliam's ace cut Auburn's lead to one in the second set. Auburn controlled a steady lead, 19-8, over Georgia with an 8-1 run. Four final points secured the 25-14 the set for the Tigers.
Auburn forced an early lead again in the third, but the Bulldogs kept the advantage in check with a kill apiece from Karstens and Ritchie to tie the match at 6. Ritchie started an 8-1 run for the Bulldogs to establish a one-point Georgia lead at 24-23. The Bulldogs went point-for-point against the Tigers until the contest was tied at 27. Then, Auburn used two additional kills to finalize the match, 29-27.
Georgia continues its home-stretch and will host #13 Florida on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.
