Bulldogs Fall in Straight Sets to #13 Florida

Sunday, November 18

Athens, Ga.

2 p.m.

University of Georgia

13-14, 4-12

Florida

23-5, 14-2

Florida

Georgia

November 18, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score

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ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia volleyball team hosted #13 University of Florida Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum. The Gators secured the sweep of the Dawgs in straight sets (25-13, 25-11, 25-20).

Georgia (13-14, 4-12) and Florida (23-5, 14-2) faced off in front of a crowd of 1,391 fans.

"It was a great crowd," said Georgia head coach Tom Black. "They definitely brought a lot of energy; we really appreciated them being here. We are going to continue to build this. It was a great showing by the crowd."

The Bulldogs were led offensively by eight kills from freshman Mallory Hernandez. Majesti Bass followed with seven kills and a .308 hitting clip. Bass also led the defense on the net, putting up three blocks. Sydney Gilliam served up a pair of aces on Sunday.

Early in the first set, Hernandez got her first kill of the day to end a 4-0 Florida run, tightening the Gators' lead to 5-3. Bass ended a Gator 5-1 run to notch a point for the Bulldogs, 20-9. Florida maintained the advantage over Georgia to seal the first set, 25-13.

The Bulldogs gained the early lead, 2-1, after a kill from Young. The Gators responded to the deficit to win the next six points to put the frame back into Florida's court, 7-2. Donovan recorded an ace, to cut Florida's lead to 11-8. Karstens and Ritchie teamed up for a block to end a 5-0 run by the Gators, 16-9. Florida earned a 2-0 lead after a 5-0 run, 25-11.

The final frame was the closest of the match as it featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. Georgia gained the early advantage with a 4-1 run, combined with a block from Karstens and Young to hold a 6-2 lead on the 13^th-ranked Gators. Florida wasted no time to go on a 4-0 run to establish a one-point lead over Georgia, 7-6. The teams began exchanging points back-and-forth as Brynn Chandler entered the match, serving an ace to put the Bulldogs back on top 10-9. Knotted up at 13, Georgia kept Florida in check balancing the points. The Gators ended the match on a 6-0 run, 25-20.

"I think the team is hungry," said Black following the match. "You would not have seen the response you did in the third set, and they want to give themselves every chance to be successful in these next two matches. I think they have shown up well and we will keep working. I think we have to keep getting better with our system, we want to dig the ball off the net and we want to set it off the net. We got better and better and that led to those longer rallies as the match went on."

Georgia will return in Stegeman Coliseum versus Arkansas on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. The final match of the season will follow on Friday at 7 p.m. in Athens against Mississippi State.