Bulldogs Drop Five-Set Decision to Gamecocks

Sunday, September 30

Athens, Ga.

2 p.m.

University of Georgia

11-4, 2-2

South Carolina

13-1, 4-0

South Carolina

Georgia

Photo by: Caitlyn Tam

September 30, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score South Carolina Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – Despite taking a 2-0 lead in Sunday's match, Georgia volleyball (11-4, 2-2) fell in five sets to South Carolina (13-1, 4-0) at Stegeman Coliseum (25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 17-25, 13-15).

The Bulldog offense was led by an 18-kill performance from Rachel Ritchie followed closely by 17 kills from T'ara Ceasar. Ceasar also had 14 digs, a season high, for her fifth double-double. Mallory Hernandez (9) and Majesti Bass (8) fell just short of the double-digit kill marks.

Defensively, Kendall Glover picked up 15 digs while Bass had six blocks. At the service line, Georgia had six aces, three from Ceasar.

In the opening set, Georgia fell behind early, 5-1, but quickly turned a three-point run to pull within one, 6-5. Six ties and three lead changes later, the teams were knotted up at 17. Four-straight Bulldog points put Georgia ahead 21-17 late. South Carolina pulled within two at 21-19 but Georgia won four of the final points to secure the opening frame, 25-20. Ceasar and Ritchie each recorded five kills in the opening set. Ceasar hit .833 as she laid down her five kills on six attacks; she also had two aces in the set. As a team, Georgia hit .419 in the first set.

Sunday's set one victory over the Gamecocks was the first set loss in SEC play this season for South Carolina, breaking a nine-set winning streak.

South Carolina won the first two points of the second set. Georgia responded by winning nine of the next 10 points to take a commanding early lead, 9-3. Another 5-0 run by the Bulldogs later widened the lead to 15-6. South Carolina began chipping away at the lead, 22-17, prompting a timeout from Georgia. The Dawgs won three of the next four points to win the second set and go ahead 2-0 in the match.

An early 7-1 run by South Carolina opened a 9-5 lead for the Gamecocks in the third frame. South Carolina continued to build the lead to lead by as much as seven at 19-12. The Bulldogs used four-straight points late to pull back within four, 23-19, but the Gamecocks sided out to win the set and avoid a sweep, 25-19.

The fourth set featured seven ties in the first 20 points. With the set tied at 10, the Gamecocks won the next three to find a 13-10 lead. A 5-0 run widened the lead in the fourth to 20-13, preluding a 25-17 set four win by the Gamecocks to force a fifth and final set.

Not unlike the rest of the match, set five was just as close as it featured eight ties and two lead changes. Georgia led early, 6-4, but five-straight Gamecock points put South Carolina on top 9-6. Georgia tied it with three-straight at 9. Tied at 10, South Carolina sided out, forcing Georgia to use its final timeout. The Bulldogs tied it back up after the break at 12 but the Gamecocks won three of the next four to swipe the match away from Georgia, 15-13.

Georgia opens a three-match road swing beginning Wednesday at Auburn. The match set for 7 p.m., ET, will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Head Coach Tom Black
On how the team played in the first two sets...
"I thought the first two sets were really steady. We put a ton of service pressure on them. Our offense was particularly strong in the second set. We should have responded better."

On what they need to work on...
"I think when we are doing those good things we have to do them longer. Obviously, we lost our service pressure and lost our offensive pressure. We got a few runs, but way too late in the set. We need to respond a little sooner."