Georgia Travels to No. 25 Missouri this Weekend

Friday, February 19

Columbia, Mo.

7:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

Missouri

February 17, 2021 | Volleyball

Missouri Match Notes 21921

Georgia (4-8, 4-8 SEC)
at #25 Missouri (8-4, 8-4 SEC)
Dates: Friday, Feb. 19; Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021
Times: Friday – 7 p.m., ET; Saturday – 7 p.m., ET
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Arena: Hearnes Center

Media Information
Streaming Video: SEC Network+
     Play-by-play: Ben Arnet
     Analysis: Riley Rohler
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball will travel to Columbia, Missouri this weekend for a two-match series with No. 25 Missouri. Both Friday and Saturday's matches will begin at 7 p.m., ET, from Hearnes Center.

Follow the Bulldogs
» Both matches against the Tigers will stream live on SEC Network+. Ben Arnet and Riley Rohler will be on the call.
» 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 History
- Georgia trails the all-time series with Missouri, 5-9
- In Columbia, Georgia trails the series 2-4. The Bulldogs swept the Tigers in 2017, Tom Black's first season in Columbia.
- Since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012, Georgia trails the series 4-8

Up Next
The Bulldogs will have two weeks off before returning to action March 12 and 13 when Texas A&M comes to Athens for a two-match series. Both matches with the Aggies will begin at 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.

Let's Recap
Georgia hosted the No. 3 Wildcats at Stegeman Coliseum last weekend. The Bulldogs were swept in both matches by the undefeated Wildcats. After being swept in the first match, the Bulldogs came out strong in the second match. After a slow start to the opening set, the Bulldogs began firing the offense and cut the stanza to two points down the stretch, 22-20. Kentucky held on and to win the set and secure its second 3-0 victory of the weekend.

Block Party in Athens
Following seasons of ranking toward the bottom of the conference in blocking, Georgia has had a renewed focus on that area of its play this season. Georgia has ranked in the top four this season in the category with 2.36 blocks per set. Georgia put up over 3.0 blocks per set against Arkansas (22 blocks in seven sets). Freshman Phoebe Awoleye is a top-10 blocker in the league.

13 Land on Fall SEC Honor Roll
The Georgia volleyball team placed 13 student-athletes on the 2020 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. Phoebe Awoleye, Brynn Chandler, Kacie Evans, Alexa Fortin, Meghan Froemming, Londyn Gray, Dalaney Hans, Mallory Hernandez, Sage Naves, Rachel Ritchie, Kayla Rivera, Claire Rothenberger, Kianna Young all earned the academic distinction.

SEC Spring Volleyball Format
The spring schedule will follow the format the SEC used for the fall: two matches against the same opponent in the same week on back-to-back days. Teams will play eight conference opponents for a total of 16 matches with four series at home and four on the road. The schedule includes a week at the end of the season for any makeups matches for all schools.

Three Bulldogs Earn Degrees
A trio of Georgia volleyball student-athletes earned their undergraduate degrees in December. Brynn Chandler (Communications Studies), Rachel Ritchie (English), and Kianna Young (Biological Engineering) all earned their diplomas from UGA. All three have began work towards their Masters degree from UGA.

Evans Named SEC Def. Player of the Week
Sophomore Kacie Evans was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 23. Evans led the team with 3.88 digs per set in Georgia's two-match series at No. 5 Florida, tallying double-digit digs in both matches. Evans picked up 14 digs in Friday's 3-1 upset of the Gators and topped it on Saturday with a career-best 17 digs. She also took 30 service receptions, committing only one reception error. She native also had an impressive offensive performance in both matches in Gainesville, registering 3.38 kills per set. She recorded double-doubles in both matches with 12 and 15 kills, respectively.

History in Gainesville
Georgia volleyball made history on Nov. 21 in Gainesville, Florida when the Bulldogs defeated then-No. 5 Florida, 3-1, snapping a 19-match losing streak to the Gators. Not only was it the first win against Florida since 2008, it was the first win in Gainesville since Nov. 7, 1986, and the first win over a top-10 opponent since the same win against Florida in 2008 when the Gators were ranked No. 8 in Athens. It became the program's highest-ever ranked win and first over a top-5 opponent. The win was the 10th all-time against Florida in 77 meetings.

Bulldogs Ink Five in Early Signing Period
The Bulldogs announced the signing of five student-athletes during the early signing period last week. The class includes Maxpreps First Team All-American setter Clara Brower, libero Bailey Cox, middle blocker Kaitlin Fournier, and outside hitters Under Armour All-American honorable mention Abby Maesch and Lyric Stewart.

Clara Brower joined the Bulldogs in January as an early enrollee. Brower will be considered a mid-season enrollee and will not be eligible to play in Spring 2021, but can take part in team activities and practice.

Stivrins Shines on Opening Weekend
Sophomore outside hitter Amber Stivrins put together a strong performance in her first weekend as a Bulldog against South Carolina. Stivrins concluded the weekend with 34 kills, including a career-high 26 coming in Sunday's match (second all-time in a four-set match). She hit .564 in that match. She also put up a team-best 20 digs over the weekend while recording three aces.

Black Notches 300th Career Victory
Head coach Tom Black, in his 16th season as a head coach, recorded his 300th-career victory on Sunday, Oct. 18 with a four-set victory over South Carolina. Black is fifth among the active head coaches in the SEC behind Mary Wise (Florida), Fran Flory (LSU), Craig Skinner (Kentucky), and Lindsey Devine (Alabama).

Black Steps Down as Canada Coach
It was announced in November that Tom Black was stepping down as the head coach of Volleyball Canada's women's national team in order to focus on his head coaching duties at Georgia full time. Under Black's guidance, Canada qualified for FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) for the first time after winning the qualifying tournament in 2019.

Georgia Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll
The Bulldogs were picked sixth in the SEC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Georgia finished fifth in 2019 with a 12-6 record. Kentucky was picked to win the league in 2020-21.

Volleyball Scores Perfect 100 on Latest GSR Report
University of Georgia student-athletes set an all-time record with an 87% graduation rate according on the annual NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report released in November. Five Georgia teams scored a perfect 100 on the GSR report: women's golf, gymnastics, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, and volleyball.

A Look at the 2020-21 Squad
Georgia's roster features 18 total student-athletes, the largest roster in the history of the program. The squad is a near-perfect mix of classes (4 seniors, 5 juniors, 5 sophomores, 4 freshmen). Five starters return from the 2019 NCAA Tournament squad including SEC Freshman of the Year Kacie Evans and Rachel Ritchie on the outside as well as Sage Naves and Kianna Young in the middle with Kayla Rivera on the opposite pin. Claire Rothenberger is expected to fill the libero jersey following the graduation of Kendall Glover. Setting duties will be taken over by Dalaney Hans and Brynn Chandler as All-SEC setter Meghan Donovan graduated in May. Louisville transfer Amber Stivrins will bolster Georgia's outside attack while freshman middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye looks to makes some noise in the middle during her rookie season.

Bulldogs Earn USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award Recognition
Georgia earned recognition from the United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for outstanding work in the classroom during the 2019-20 academic year. The USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award was the latest of several academic achievements during the year for the Bulldogs volleyball team, including a 3.371 team GPA. Seven members of the team earned spots on the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and all four members of the freshman class appeared on the SEC First-Year Academic Honor including a 4.0 GPA by Londyn Gray in her first year at Georgia. Volleyball was also one of three UGA programs to be recognized by the NCAA for outstanding achievement in the annual NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) report, announced in May.