Georgia Opens SEC Slate This Weekend

Friday, September 21

Athens, Ga.

7 p.m.

University of Georgia

LSU

September 20, 2018 | Volleyball

LSU/Texas A&M Notes

Georgia (9-2, 0-0)
vs. LSU (5-6, 0-0)
Date: Friday, Sept. 21, 2018
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum

Media Information
Streaming Video: SEC Network+ (Kaleb Frady, Nikki Nicholson Chester)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com

at Texas A&M (8-5, 1-0)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018
Time: 3 p.m., ET
Location: College Station, Texas
Arena: Reed Arena

Media Information
Streaming Video: SEC Network+ (Casey Richardson, Chelsea Reber)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com

Twitter Updates: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball (9-2, 0-0) will open its Southeastern Conference slate this weekend when it hosts LSU (5-6, 0-0) Friday evening at Stegeman Coliseum. SEC opening weekend continues with a trip to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M (8-5, 1-0) Sunday.

First serve from Stegeman Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. against the LSU Tigers. It's Georgia's first match at home since opening weekend Aug. 24-25. The Georgia-Texas A&M match will begin at 3 p.m., ET, at Reed Arena.

This Weekend's Promotions
Friday, Sept. 21 vs. LSU
• Wear Black - Fans are encouraged to wear black to Friday evening's match. Additionally, the first 1,000 fans will receive a black Georgia t-shirt for free
• The first 250 students will receive free pizza
• As always, admission to regular-season home Georgia volleyball matches is FREE

Follow the Bulldogs
• Both matches this weekend will be streamed live on the SEC Network+. Kaleb Frady (play-by-play) and Nikki Nicholson Chester (analysis) will be on the call Friday evening.
• Live stats will be available for both matches this weekend. Links can be found on the volleyball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
• Twitter updates will be available all season long on the official Twitter page of Georgia volleyball, @UGAvolleyball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
LSU
• LSU leads the series 36-22.
• Georgia defeated the Tigers in Baton Rouge in straight sets last season.
• Prior to last season's meeting, Georgia had lost five-straight matches to LSU, the last win being 2013 in Baton Rouge.
• Georgia has not defeated LSU in Athens since Oct. 7, 2008. The Bulldogs have lost seven-straight meetings with the Tigers in the Classic City.
Texas A&M
• Texas A&M leads the series 15-3.
• The Aggies swept the Bulldogs at home last season.
• Georgia has not defeated Texas A&M in eight meetings since the Aggies became a member of the SEC in 2012.
• Georgia's three wins over the Aggies came in 1986 (NCAA Tournament), 1993, and 1994.

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia travels to Ole Miss next Friday for a 7 p.m. showdown on the SEC Network. The Bulldogs return to Stegeman Coliseum to host South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 30. First serve against the Gamecocks is slated for 2 p.m.

Let's Recap
Georgia volleyball concluded non-conference play last weekend in Atlanta. Down two sets at Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs rallied in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth set Friday. Georgia Tech prevailed in the fifth for Georgia's second loss of the season. The Bulldogs rebounded in the non-conference finale against NC State, defeating the Wolfpack in straight sets.

AVCA Top 25 Poll
The Bulldogs received votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll for the third week in a row. Georgia last cracked the Top 25 in 1995, achieving a season-high ranking of 22. The highest the Bulldogs have ever been ranked was #13 in 1993.

Donovan Earns Third Setter of the Week
For the third time this season, Meghan Donovan has been named the SEC Setter of the Week. The St. Louis native dished out 12.3 assists per set over the weekend, running a Bulldog offense that hit .298 in eight sets played. In Friday's five-set loss to Georgia Tech, Donovan recorded a new career best with 57 assists. In the fourth set of the match, Georgia hit .593 to force a fifth set after being down 2-0. In Saturday's sweep of NC State, Donovan recorded 42 assists, a season-high for a three-set match. Georgia also had a season-best .328 hitting percentage against the Wolfpack. The win was Georgia's fifth sweep of the season.

Helping Hands
Junior setter Meghan Donovan's 11.6 assists per set ranks 10th in the country while leading the SEC in the category. Donovan recently moved up the career top-10 list in assists. She currently has 2,861. She will become only the seventh Bulldog setter to tip the 3,000-assist mark in her career.

Aces Wild
Georgia ranks ninth in the country, second in the SEC, with 1.90 aces per set. The Bulldogs have picked up where they left off a season ago at the service line as they averaged 1.57 aces per set to lead the league. Kendall Glover, who recorded seven in three sets against Texas Tech (tying a Georgia rally scoring record), ranks fifth in the league while middle blocker Anna Kate Karstens ranks fourth in the league.

Donovan, Ceasar Earn SEC Honors
Meghan Donovan (Player/Setter of the Week) and T'ara Ceasar (Offensive Player of the Week) each earned recognition from the Southeastern Conference for their efforts at last weekend's Buffs Invitational. Donovan dished out 11.7 assists per set and ran an offense that hit .202 on the weekend. In Friday's match at #24 Colorado, she tied a career-best 56 assists as the Bulldogs hit .287. She recorded her fourth double-double of the season in Saturday's match against Oklahoma with 50 assists and 12 digs. She finished the weekend with 25 digs (1.92 digs/set). She also contributed nine blocks on the weekend. Ceasar earned her first SEC Offensive Player of the Week award of her career. The Buffs Invitational MVP recorded 4.38 kills per set over the weekend. The weekend started with Ceasar recording 22 kills (tying season high) while hitting .362 in the win over #24 Colorado. In Saturday's match against Oklahoma, she tallied 21 kills with 13 digs for her third double-double of the season.

A Perfect Start... Again
Georgia last opened a season 7-0 in 2016, when it opened 8-0. That was also Georgia's last winning streak of seven or more matches. UGA has opened a season 6-0 or better seven times in its history.

SEC Preseason Poll
The Bulldogs were picked to finish in the top four of the Southeastern Conference, garnering 105 points in voting by the league's head coaches. 2017 co-champion Kentucky, picking up eight first-place votes and 140 points, has been chosen to win the league in 2018. The Bulldogs were picked tied with LSU with 105 points.

Ceasar Tabbed Preseason All-SEC
Sophomore T'ara Ceasar was voted Preseason All-SEC by the league's head coaches. As a freshman, she was an All-SEC and All-Freshman Team pick, becoming the first All-SEC freshman Bulldog since Jasmine Eatmon in 2012. She became the first in Georgia history to receive seven SEC weekly honors in one season, breaking the previous record of two by a freshman Bulldog. Ceasar was named to the 2017 AVCA All-Southeast Region Team, finishing the season as the highest-ranked freshman nationally in kills (4.14) and points per set (4.79).

Breaking Down the Roster
Georgia returns five starters plus a libero in 2018. In all, 11 letterwinners return. The squad features Preseason All-SEC outside hitter T'ara Ceasar and AVCA All-Southeast Region honorable mention setter Meghan Donovan. A strong sophomore class featuring Ceasar, Rachel Ritchie, and Kendall Glover look to help guide Georgia to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013. New to the roster in 2018 is a trio of true freshmen in middle blocker Sage Naves (Agoura Hills, Calif.), outside Kayla Rivera (Ventura, Calif.), and opposite Mallory Hernandez (Fishers, Ind.).

2018 Schedule at a Glance
The 29-match schedule will feature 12 contests in Athens, set to be played in Stegeman Coliseum. SEC play begins at Stegeman on Sept. 21 when Georgia hosts LSU. The 2018 schedule features four teams that finished in the AVCA final top 25: #2 Florida, #6 Kentucky, #19 Colorado, and #20 Missouri. Six teams on Georgia's schedule competed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Georgia will conclude the regular season with four-straight matches at home beginning Nov. 15 against Auburn.