University of Georgia Athletics
Saturday, August 28
Athens, Ga.
10:30 a.m.
University of Georgia
2-0,0-0SEC
3
vs
0
Winthrop
0-2,0-0Big South
1
2
3
F
Winthrop
23
21
19
0
Georgia
25
25
25
3
Bulldogs Split on Final Day of Classic City Clash
August 28, 2021 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia women's volleyball team swept the Winthrop Eagles Saturday afternoon before dropping a five-set decision to No. 22 Pepperdine to close play of the Classic City Clash at Stegeman Coliseum.
Freshmen Lyric Stewart and Clara Brower earned All-Tournament Team accolades. Stewart tallied 26 kills while hitting .467 on the weekend, averaging 2.36 kills per set, with 12 total blocks. Brower handed out 111 assists in 11 sets played (10.09 assists/set), adding three aces, seven blocks, and 17 digs. She ran a Bulldogs (2-1) offense that hit .299 as a team to open the season.
Georgia 3, Winthrop 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19)
The Bulldogs' offense was paced by seven kills apiece by Stewart and Abby Maesch and sophomore Phoebe Awoleye. Senior Kayla Rivera added six kills of her own.
At the service line, the Bulldogs recorded seven aces, including two each from senior Claire Rothenberger and freshman Bailey Cox.
Rothenberger picked up her first double-digit dig performance of the season with 10 digs. Sophomore libero Mallory Downing added nine while junior Amber Stivrins and Cox picked up seven each.
Georgia opened the match winning the first four rallies before Winthrop (0-2) stormed back to tie the opening set at 6-all. Kills from Maesch and Awoleye kept the Bulldogs in front, 8-6. Georgia was able to pull out in front 12-9, but Winthrop rode a 6-0 run to take a 15-12 lead into the first set media timeout. Georgia regrouped after the timeout to win five of the next six rallies to retake a 17-16 lead, capped by a Brower ace to force an Eagle timeout. The Bulldogs hold the momentum, widening the lead to 23-19. The Eagles kept the set alive, winning three of the next four and prompting a timeout from the Bulldogs bench, 24-22. The Bulldogs were able to hold off the Eagles en route to a 25-23 set one victory.
The Bulldogs once again took a lead in set two, but Winthrop slowed the Georgia attack and found a 7-5 advantage. Down 11-9, Georgia went on a 6-1 run, capped by back-to-back Rothenberger aces, to go ahead 15-12. Again, the Eagles battled to make it a one-point set, 17-16. Georgia held off Winthrop to take the set 25-21 and a two-set lead in the contest.
Knotted at 6-all in the third, four-straight by the Bulldogs gave Georgia a 10-6 lead. Ahead five, a 4-1 run further bolstered Georgia lead to 21-13 down the stretch. Winthrop didn't go down easy as it chipped away at the lead; however, the lead was too much for the Eagles to overcome in the end as Georgia finished the sweep 25-19.
No. 22 Pepperdine 3, Georgia 2 (25-17, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25, 11-15)
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Saturday evenings' match, but ultimately fell to the Waves in a hard-fought five set battle.
Georgia put four players in the double-digit kill category, leg by 15 from Stewart. Maesch and Stivrins added 14 each while Rivera tallied 12.
Brower handed out 53 assists as Georgia hit .304 against Pepperdine (3-0). At the service line, Brower and Stivrins each landed two aces as part of Georgia's seven total. As a team, the Bulldogs finished the weekend with 19 services aces.
Defensively, Rothenberger led the team with nine digs in the match. Stewart led Georgia's blocking efforts with four.
Georgia jumped out to an early 5-1 lead to open the match. Pepperdine focused and pulled within one of Georgia, 6-5, but Georgia never gave up its early lead. A 5-1 run in the middle of the set opened a 16-9 lead for the Bulldogs which they rode to a 25-17 win in set one. Georgia ended the frame winning four-straight, capped by a Stivrins ace. Stewart and Stivrins each tallied four kills in the opening set as Stewart was a perfect 4-for-4.
The Waves captured an early lead in set two. Down one, 9-8, Georgia rattled off four of the next five points to take a 12-10 lead and force a Pepperdine timeout. The Waves retook the lead out of the timeout, 14-13. Both teams went point-for-point. Pepperdine managed to pull ahead and draw set point at 24-22, but Georgia never gave up and battled to win four-straight and the set, 26-24, and capture a 2-0 lead in the match. The second set featured 11 ties and three lead changes.
Once again, both teams battled it out in the third set. While the set was close to start, Pepperdine pulled slightly ahead at 8-5 and managed to hold on to the advantage despite Georgia's best efforts. A 6-1 run, finished by a Downing ace, cut the Waves' lead to one, 21-20. Pepperdine held on to win the frame 25-22 and keep the match alive.
An early 7-3 Pepperdine lead prompted a quick timeout from the Bulldogs' bench in set four. A 9-1 run pushed Pepperdine way out in front, 17-6. Pepperdine rolled to a 25-16 win in the set to force a decisive fifth and final frame.
The fifth set was close to open but three-straight put the Waves ahead 7-3 in the race to 15. The Bulldogs cut it to 11-10 but that would be the closest they would get to halting Pepperdine's momentum as the Waves took the set 15-11 and the match.
Georgia returns to action next weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Bulldogs take on Arizona State at 10 a.m., ET, Friday to open play of the Ameritas Players Challenge. Georgia then takes on No. 5 Nebraska that evening at 7 p.m. on Big 10 Network.
Classic City Clash All-Tournament Team
MVP Rachel Ahrens - Pepperdine
Isabel Zelaya - Pepperdine
Meg Brown - Pepperdine
Lyric Stewart - Georgia
Clara Brower - Georgia
Abby Hulsman - Morehead State
Morgan Bossler - Winthrop
Head Coach Tom Black
On the energy that the fans brought to the game…
"I thought the crowd was awesome. It was a really fun environment. We're not going to be home for a while again, so we really appreciate them coming out this weekend. They were great the entire weekend. As we keep growing this program, there's no reason this can't be one of the best venues is the country to play and watch volleyball in, so I thought the crowd was great."
On what changed in the final three sets of the match…
"I thought the first 4 sets, it was a tail of two matches. We were playing lights out the first two sets, and I thought they played lights out in sets three and four. Set five was more of a battle. I thought it just switched, but I thought the ladies did a great job responding back in set five. We had a chance to win, but there were just a few unfortunate plays there at the end. If we play a little bit cleaner, it's 13-13 or 14-all, and we see what happens."
On what the team has learned this weekend…
"I think there're a lot of things, but it takes me a while to distill all of that. Just off two seconds after these games, I'm super proud of what this group did with so many people out including some really proven starters for us. All our freshmen playing the entire time. I just thought they did an incredible job in the first weekend of college volleyball. That was a top-25 team, and we had every opportunity to win. I'm excited to watch this group grow and get out entire unit back. The loss really stings because we know we had a chance to win it, but we came up a little bit short, but the team didn't stop fighting. Even in those last couple of points, we still made some really good volleyball plays. I'm just excited to see then grow and build on it."
Freshman outside hitter Lyric Stewart
On her mindset throughout the match…
"It was really the adrenaline pumping in me and knowing that the other team like could barely stop me. I'm like, 'Well let's keep that going.' I just kind of focused on the block. In my head I'm like, 'If there's three up, I'm going to tip, and if there's two up, I'm just going to swing the opposite direction.' I just kept the idea in my head that I am unstoppable to their team, and I kept that mindset because I can't get down on myself. They blocked me once they blocked me, maybe twice, but I can't let that be like, 'oh well they shut me down."
Freshman setter Clara Brower
On how the energy of the team affected the match…
"I think our energy tonight, when it was on it was on. I thought when our energy was on our passers were just on fire, and with our passing being so great at those high energy moments, that allowed me to just get the hitters the ball. I think when we did have high energy, we were just on fire, and when we didn't, you could kind of tell that's when Pepperdine was taking the lead, and we were kind of scrambling. I think that we consistently were aware of it and consistently tried to get better from it."
On how the team feels after a strong opening weekend…
"I think this weekend we learned a lot about ourselves, especially with having some key people out. I think it really just taught us teamwork and to always give 110 percent. I think we are confident with the people we have, and if we have that energy, then we can do it, so I'm super proud of just our fight and our grit that we showed tonight. I know that it could've gone either way, and that's what I'm pretty proud about. I think going into next weekend our entire team is really pumped and excited about it."
Freshmen Lyric Stewart and Clara Brower earned All-Tournament Team accolades. Stewart tallied 26 kills while hitting .467 on the weekend, averaging 2.36 kills per set, with 12 total blocks. Brower handed out 111 assists in 11 sets played (10.09 assists/set), adding three aces, seven blocks, and 17 digs. She ran a Bulldogs (2-1) offense that hit .299 as a team to open the season.
Georgia 3, Winthrop 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19)
The Bulldogs' offense was paced by seven kills apiece by Stewart and Abby Maesch and sophomore Phoebe Awoleye. Senior Kayla Rivera added six kills of her own.
At the service line, the Bulldogs recorded seven aces, including two each from senior Claire Rothenberger and freshman Bailey Cox.
Rothenberger picked up her first double-digit dig performance of the season with 10 digs. Sophomore libero Mallory Downing added nine while junior Amber Stivrins and Cox picked up seven each.
Georgia opened the match winning the first four rallies before Winthrop (0-2) stormed back to tie the opening set at 6-all. Kills from Maesch and Awoleye kept the Bulldogs in front, 8-6. Georgia was able to pull out in front 12-9, but Winthrop rode a 6-0 run to take a 15-12 lead into the first set media timeout. Georgia regrouped after the timeout to win five of the next six rallies to retake a 17-16 lead, capped by a Brower ace to force an Eagle timeout. The Bulldogs hold the momentum, widening the lead to 23-19. The Eagles kept the set alive, winning three of the next four and prompting a timeout from the Bulldogs bench, 24-22. The Bulldogs were able to hold off the Eagles en route to a 25-23 set one victory.
The Bulldogs once again took a lead in set two, but Winthrop slowed the Georgia attack and found a 7-5 advantage. Down 11-9, Georgia went on a 6-1 run, capped by back-to-back Rothenberger aces, to go ahead 15-12. Again, the Eagles battled to make it a one-point set, 17-16. Georgia held off Winthrop to take the set 25-21 and a two-set lead in the contest.
Knotted at 6-all in the third, four-straight by the Bulldogs gave Georgia a 10-6 lead. Ahead five, a 4-1 run further bolstered Georgia lead to 21-13 down the stretch. Winthrop didn't go down easy as it chipped away at the lead; however, the lead was too much for the Eagles to overcome in the end as Georgia finished the sweep 25-19.
No. 22 Pepperdine 3, Georgia 2 (25-17, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25, 11-15)
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Saturday evenings' match, but ultimately fell to the Waves in a hard-fought five set battle.
Georgia put four players in the double-digit kill category, leg by 15 from Stewart. Maesch and Stivrins added 14 each while Rivera tallied 12.
Brower handed out 53 assists as Georgia hit .304 against Pepperdine (3-0). At the service line, Brower and Stivrins each landed two aces as part of Georgia's seven total. As a team, the Bulldogs finished the weekend with 19 services aces.
Defensively, Rothenberger led the team with nine digs in the match. Stewart led Georgia's blocking efforts with four.
Georgia jumped out to an early 5-1 lead to open the match. Pepperdine focused and pulled within one of Georgia, 6-5, but Georgia never gave up its early lead. A 5-1 run in the middle of the set opened a 16-9 lead for the Bulldogs which they rode to a 25-17 win in set one. Georgia ended the frame winning four-straight, capped by a Stivrins ace. Stewart and Stivrins each tallied four kills in the opening set as Stewart was a perfect 4-for-4.
The Waves captured an early lead in set two. Down one, 9-8, Georgia rattled off four of the next five points to take a 12-10 lead and force a Pepperdine timeout. The Waves retook the lead out of the timeout, 14-13. Both teams went point-for-point. Pepperdine managed to pull ahead and draw set point at 24-22, but Georgia never gave up and battled to win four-straight and the set, 26-24, and capture a 2-0 lead in the match. The second set featured 11 ties and three lead changes.
Once again, both teams battled it out in the third set. While the set was close to start, Pepperdine pulled slightly ahead at 8-5 and managed to hold on to the advantage despite Georgia's best efforts. A 6-1 run, finished by a Downing ace, cut the Waves' lead to one, 21-20. Pepperdine held on to win the frame 25-22 and keep the match alive.
An early 7-3 Pepperdine lead prompted a quick timeout from the Bulldogs' bench in set four. A 9-1 run pushed Pepperdine way out in front, 17-6. Pepperdine rolled to a 25-16 win in the set to force a decisive fifth and final frame.
The fifth set was close to open but three-straight put the Waves ahead 7-3 in the race to 15. The Bulldogs cut it to 11-10 but that would be the closest they would get to halting Pepperdine's momentum as the Waves took the set 15-11 and the match.
Georgia returns to action next weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Bulldogs take on Arizona State at 10 a.m., ET, Friday to open play of the Ameritas Players Challenge. Georgia then takes on No. 5 Nebraska that evening at 7 p.m. on Big 10 Network.
Classic City Clash All-Tournament Team
MVP Rachel Ahrens - Pepperdine
Isabel Zelaya - Pepperdine
Meg Brown - Pepperdine
Lyric Stewart - Georgia
Clara Brower - Georgia
Abby Hulsman - Morehead State
Morgan Bossler - Winthrop
Head Coach Tom Black
On the energy that the fans brought to the game…
"I thought the crowd was awesome. It was a really fun environment. We're not going to be home for a while again, so we really appreciate them coming out this weekend. They were great the entire weekend. As we keep growing this program, there's no reason this can't be one of the best venues is the country to play and watch volleyball in, so I thought the crowd was great."
On what changed in the final three sets of the match…
"I thought the first 4 sets, it was a tail of two matches. We were playing lights out the first two sets, and I thought they played lights out in sets three and four. Set five was more of a battle. I thought it just switched, but I thought the ladies did a great job responding back in set five. We had a chance to win, but there were just a few unfortunate plays there at the end. If we play a little bit cleaner, it's 13-13 or 14-all, and we see what happens."
On what the team has learned this weekend…
"I think there're a lot of things, but it takes me a while to distill all of that. Just off two seconds after these games, I'm super proud of what this group did with so many people out including some really proven starters for us. All our freshmen playing the entire time. I just thought they did an incredible job in the first weekend of college volleyball. That was a top-25 team, and we had every opportunity to win. I'm excited to watch this group grow and get out entire unit back. The loss really stings because we know we had a chance to win it, but we came up a little bit short, but the team didn't stop fighting. Even in those last couple of points, we still made some really good volleyball plays. I'm just excited to see then grow and build on it."
Freshman outside hitter Lyric Stewart
On her mindset throughout the match…
"It was really the adrenaline pumping in me and knowing that the other team like could barely stop me. I'm like, 'Well let's keep that going.' I just kind of focused on the block. In my head I'm like, 'If there's three up, I'm going to tip, and if there's two up, I'm just going to swing the opposite direction.' I just kept the idea in my head that I am unstoppable to their team, and I kept that mindset because I can't get down on myself. They blocked me once they blocked me, maybe twice, but I can't let that be like, 'oh well they shut me down."
Freshman setter Clara Brower
On how the energy of the team affected the match…
"I think our energy tonight, when it was on it was on. I thought when our energy was on our passers were just on fire, and with our passing being so great at those high energy moments, that allowed me to just get the hitters the ball. I think when we did have high energy, we were just on fire, and when we didn't, you could kind of tell that's when Pepperdine was taking the lead, and we were kind of scrambling. I think that we consistently were aware of it and consistently tried to get better from it."
On how the team feels after a strong opening weekend…
"I think this weekend we learned a lot about ourselves, especially with having some key people out. I think it really just taught us teamwork and to always give 110 percent. I think we are confident with the people we have, and if we have that energy, then we can do it, so I'm super proud of just our fight and our grit that we showed tonight. I know that it could've gone either way, and that's what I'm pretty proud about. I think going into next weekend our entire team is really pumped and excited about it."
Team Stats
Win
UGa
Kills
35
32
Errors
22
14
Attempts
113
93
Hitting %
.115
.194
Points
43
46
Assists
30
28
Aces
2
7
Blocks
6
7
Game Leaders
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
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OH
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