2019 Volleyball Season Commences Friday at Clemson

Friday, August 30

Clemson, S.C.

6 p.m.

University of Georgia

Clemson

Photo by: Kristin M. Bradshaw

August 29, 2019 | Volleyball

Clemson Tournament Match Notes 2019 Volleyball Media Guide

Georgia (0-0)
at The Big Orange Bash
Dates: Friday, Aug. 30-Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019
Match Times:
Friday, Aug. 30, 6 p.m. – at Clemson (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 31, 12 p.m. – vs. Kennesaw State (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 31, 5 p.m. – vs. Wofford (0-0)
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Arena: Jervey Gym

Media Information
Streaming Video: ACC Network Extra (Clemson match only)
Live Stats: vs. Clemson | vs. Kennesaw State | vs. Wofford

First Serve
Georgia volleyball will begin the 2019 campaign this Friday at the Big Orange Bash, hosted by Clemson. Georgia begins play in Clemson, South Carolina at 6 p.m. Friday against the host Tigers. Saturday's action will feature the Bulldogs facing off against Kennesaw State and Wofford.

Follow the Bulldogs
» Friday's match against Clemson will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.
» Live stats will be available for every match of the Big Orange Bash. Live stat 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 the Bulldogs, @UGAvolleyball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
Clemson
- Georgia leads the all-time series 29-10
- The series with Clemson is one of Georgia's longest-running non-conference series, coming in second only to the series with Georgia Tech (40 matches).
- Despite the longevity of the series, the Bulldogs and Tigers have not met on the volleyball court since 2005; UGA won in three sets.
- In the first decade of the series, the teams met 21 times, meeting three times in '81 and '82; the teams played a home-and-home series nearly every season until 1992.
- From 1984 to 1997, Georgia won 21-straight matches against Clemson; the Tigers then won six-straight from 1998 to 2003.
- Georgia won back-to-back seasons in 2004 and 2005.
Kennesaw State
- Georgia leads the all-time series 5-1
- The Bulldogs won the first five meetings from 2010 to 2016 and lost the most recent in 2017.
Wofford
- Georgia leads the all-time series 2-1
- The Bulldogs and Terriers first met in 2007 and most recently played in 2015 and 2017.
- Wofford won the 2017 match in five sets at Davidson.

A Look Ahead
The Bulldogs will fly west to California for week two of the season. Long Beach State will host a four-team tournament beginning Wednesday, Sept. 5 against UCLA. Georgia will also play host Long Beach and Texas State on Saturday. The trip will be a homecoming for four Bulldogs as well as the coaching staff who all hail from the Golden State.

Exhibition Recap
Georgia traveled to Wake Forest on Saturday, Aug. 24 for an exhibition match. The teams played four sets in the exhibition with Georgia winning all four. Georgia was led by double-digit kill performances from freshman Kacie Evans (14) and sophomore Kayla Rivera (10) who hit .562 in three sets played. Brynn Chandler put up 14 digs while Meghan Donovan (26 assists) and Dalaney Hans (15) ran an offense that hit .267. Georgia hit .275 or better in three of the four sets.

Helping Hands
Senior setter Meghan Donovan, Georgia's lone senior, enters her final season for Georgia ranking seventh all-time with 3,647 career assists. As a junior, she earned SEC Setter of the Week four times and ranked second in the league with 11.07 assists per set, coming in at 29th nationally. She'll look to become only the sixth Bulldog ever to eclipse the 4,000-assist mark this season.

Looking For A Non-Conference Boost
The Bulldogs will look to have another strong start to the season in non-conference play under Tom Black. In his first two seasons, Georgia has gone 19-5 in non-conference action. In 2017, Georgia was 10-3 while putting up a 9-2 mark a season ago.

O Canada!
In February 2019, Tom Black was named the head coach of the Canadian Women's Indoor National Team. Volleyball Canada won the FIVB Women's Challenger in Lima, Peru in June, qualifying for the Nations League Tournament in 2020. While it did not qualify for Tokyo 2020 in Russia in August, Canada will have another opportunity to qualify in January.

Donovan Trains with USA National Team
Meghan Donovan spent a week in June training with the USA National Team in Anaheim, California. She was one of 28 student-athletes who earned the opportunity and was one of four setters on the roster.

2019 Schedule at a Glance
Twenty-nine matches are featured on the 2019 schedule with 11 set in Athens. The Bulldogs will open the home schedule with a tournament hosting North Carolina State on Sept. 19 and rival Georgia Tech Sept. 20. All home matches will be decided at Stegeman Coliseum once again this season. Southeastern Conference play begins on the road with back-to-back matches at South Carolina (Sept. 27) and Florida (Sept. 29). In all, seven teams on Georgia's 2019 schedule appeared in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and four finished in the AVCA Top 25.

A Look at the 2019 Squad
Georgia's roster features 15 total student-athletes, 10 returning from last season and five newcomers including four freshmen. Setter Meghan Donovan is the lone senior on this season's roster. Donovan enters her final season in the Red and Black ranked seventh all-time with 3,647 career assists. The five-member junior class features outside hitter Rachel Ritchie, Georgia's top returning kills leader (3.35 kills/set), and libero Kendall Glover who ranked top-10 in digs in the Southeastern Conference (4.09 digs/set) in 2018. Newcomers feature junior transfer opposite hitter/middle blocker Kaylah House from Coastal Carolina. Georgia also welcomes four freshmen.