Bulldogs Sweep Morehead State in Season Opener, 3-0

Friday, August 27

Athens, Ga.

7:00 p.m.

University of Georgia

1-0,0-0SEC

Morehead State

0-1,0-0OVC

Morehead St.

Georgia

Bulldogs Sweep Morehead State in Season Opener, 3-0

August 27, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia women's volleyball team defeated Morehead State in straight sets to open the 2021 season at Stegeman Coliseum Friday evening (25-13, 25-16, 25-21).

Sophomore Phoebe Awoleye picked up a career-best 11 kills, the first double-digit kill performance of her career. Awoleye hit .769 and finished with a service ace and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Abby Maesch tallied nine kills in her Bulldogs' debut, hitting .500 on 18 swings and no errors. Junior Amber Stivrins added seven kills and a pair of aces of her own.

As a team, Georgia (1-0) committed only four hitting errors and hit .410 in the match. Freshman setter Clara Brower handed out 32 assists on the evening.

Defensively, sophomore libero Mallory Downing picked up nine digs and Stivrins added eight. At the net, freshman Lyric Stewart and senior Kayla Rivera each put up four blocks.

A 5-0 run early in the opening stanza widened a seven-point lead for Georgia, 10-3. The Bulldogs used the early momentum to double up the Eagles at 20-10 and force Morehead State (0-1) to use its second and final timeout. Awoleye's fourth kill of the frame sealed the deal in set one for Georgia, 25-13. Maesch also tallied four kills to open the match.

Georgia had to work its way back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set. Awoleye's sixth kill followed by a service ace from the sophomore middle, put the Bulldogs ahead 10-9. A 6-2 run opened a 16-12 lead for Georgia. The Bulldogs concluded the set on a 7-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match, 25-16. Awoleye matched her first set kill count with four as Stivrins contributed the same.

Down 6-4 in the third, a 10-1 Bulldog scoring run opened a comfortable 14-7 advantage. With the Bulldogs ahead 17-9, the Eagles began to narrow the lead, winning five of the next six rallies, cutting it to 18-14. Georgia was able to fend off Morehead State en route to a 25-21 win in set three and a sweep of the season opener.

Georgia will take on Winthrop Saturday at 10:30 a.m. then are back in action at 7:30 p.m. against No. 22 Pepperdine. All the action at Stegeman Coliseum is free for fans to attend.

Head Coach Tom Black
His thoughts Abby Maesch and her first match as a Bulldog....
"I thought she was an absolute stud. I think what I'm most excited about her is she's been great in practice and we've seen her get better everyday. The scrimmage probably isn't what she wanted, but she changed exactly what she needed to from that scrimmage. She was ten times better and that was the most exciting thing about her. She's a learner, she takes information and changes her game quickly. That was evident from our scrimmage to this match. I'm really proud of what she did today and super excited for her future."

On Phoebe Awoleye's blocking...
"Your block defense starts with a serve and then your blocking is the next line of defense. Phoebe has potential to be the best blocker in the country. She'll probably tell you she was frustrated with her blocking, so as good as our blocking was I think we can go to higher levels. There will be nights she's going to double the number of blocks she had tonight."

On how the freshman class performed...
"I feel like I have been recruiting this freshmen class for 10 years. Lyric (Stewart) was the first recruit when she was a freshman in high school, Clara (Brower) came on right after that, then I believe Abby (Maesch) was next and Kaitlin (Fournier) and Bailey (Cox) were the last ones. What an incredible class, they all played great against a really experienced veteran team. That's a tournament team, they lost one player and we had four freshmen out there and they were fearless. It's not just what they do on the court, the vibe they bring and how they are off the court has been such a boost for our program. We've been waiting a long time for this class and you can tell they want to take this program somewhere."

Freshman outside hitter Abby Maesch
On her thoughts her on first match as a Bulldog…
"At first, I was like, 'Oh my gosh,' but after I got over that, I was able to focus on my keys and do as good as I can. … I was just so thankful that I got this opportunity because I wasn't sure it was going to come. My teammates have been so supportive. I don't feel like we're skipping a beat at all."

On how to stay consistent throughout the season…
"Obviously, I'm going to practice a lot and watch some film. I just want to hold myself to this standard every time, and if I'm dropping, just immediately pull myself back up."

Sophomore middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye
On Abby Maesch getting her first start…
"I thought Abby (Maesch) balled out tonight. You wouldn't know she was a freshman based on how she played tonight. She wasn't fearful at all, at least you couldn't tell that she was fearful, so it was amazing."

On how she remains consistent on both offense and defense…
"I really have to say it's my team that keeps me consistent. I couldn't hit the ball or get these kills without Clara (Brower's) sets or these digs from the passers. I couldn't do it without them. I just feed off their energy, so that definitely pushes me and motivates me to do more. The communication that we have on this team is impeccable. Nobody takes anything to heart, and you can talk to anybody about anything. We're always wanting to do better, so if anything doesn't work out, we want it to work out the next time, so we talk about it and move on. It's amazing."