Georgia Battles Back, Falls to Georgia Tech in Five Sets

Friday, September 14

Atlanta, Ga.

7 p.m.

University of Georgia

Georgia Tech

Photo by: Steffenie Burns

Georgia Battles Back, Falls to Georgia Tech in Five Sets

September 14, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Georgia Tech Box Score

ATLANTA – After falling behind 2-0 in Friday's match, Georgia volleyball (8-2) battled to force a fifth set against Georgia Tech (10-2). The Yellow Jackets prevailed in the final set to take the match at O'Keefe Gymnasium.

Head coach Tom Black remarked following the match when asked what the keys to forcing a fifth set were, "We started hitting in and serving in. We lost that in the fifth set and we'll learn from that."

T'ara Ceasar and Majesti Bass (tied career high) paced the Bulldogs' offense Friday with 19 kills each while Rachel Ritchie recorded 18 (tied season high) in the five-set affair. Georgia concluded the match outhitting Georgia Tech, .277-.181.

Meghan Donovan set a new career high, dishing out 57 assists. She included three kills, seven digs, and two blocks. Defensively, Kendall Glover put up 22 digs and Claire Rothenberger had 10. Anna Kate Karstens finished with five blocks.

The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets battled point-for-point to begin the opening set. A three-point run for Georgia put the Bulldogs in the lead at 9-8. Georgia led 11-10 but a 4-0 Tech run put the Yellow Jackets in front. Georgia Tech was able to keep the Bulldogs at bay the rest of the set en rout to a 25-20 opening set win.

Ceasar led the offense with four kills while Bass and Ritchie each had three in the opening stanza.

Georgia Tech began the second set on a 3-0 run to capture an early lead. Down 11-8, Georgia rattled off five-straight points to find a 13-11 lead. The Yellow Jackets didn't take long recapturing the lead at 17-15, forcing Georgia to use its final timeout. The Bulldogs weren't able to find another lead as Tech took a 2-0 advantage in the match with a 25-21 set two win.

Bass and Ritchie each recorded five kills in the set to lead with nine each going to the third.

The Bulldogs opened the third set strong with a 6-2 lead, forcing Georgia Tech to call an early timeout. Georgia later used an 8-0 run to bolster a 15-7 lead on the Yellow Jackets. Tech was able to pull within four, 20-16; however, Georgia was able to hold Tech off for a 25-18 set three win to keep the match alive.

Ceasar went off with seven kills in the third.

Like set three, Georgia came out of the fourth set gates strong, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. The Bulldogs continued to build on the early lead, leading by as much as 12 at 22-10. The Bulldogs cruised to a 25-13 set four win to force a decisive fifth set.

Bass added five more kills in the fourth while the Bulldogs hit .593 in the fourth with an 84 percent sideout percentage.

Despite all the momentum being on its side, Georgia never led in the final set. The Bulldogs were able to draw six ties including knotting the set up at 12. Georgia Tech claimed the final three points to win the match, 15-12.

Georgia is back in action from Atlanta on Saturday. The Bulldogs bring a close to non-conference play at 1 p.m. with a matchup against NC State.