University of Georgia Athletics
Sunday, October 2
Athens, Ga.
12:00 p.m.
University of Georgia
12-3,3-1SEC
3
vs
2
Texas A&M
10-6,2-3SEC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Texas A&M
17
18
25
25
13
2
Georgia
25
25
21
22
15
3
Bailey Cox Sets Career Best in Digs, Bulldogs Beat Aggies in Five Sets
October 02, 2022 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – Sophomore defensive specialist Bailey Cox set a career record with 31 digs, good for third-most in program history in a five-set match all-time, as the Georgia Bulldogs (12-3, 3-1 SEC) volleyball team beat the Texas A&M Aggies (10-7, 2-4 SEC), 3-2, winning their second consecutive five-setter in two days on Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
"[Setting a new career-high in digs] feels good, but I couldn't do it without my team," said Cox. "We respected Texas A&M. We had a good game plan going into tonight. It was a tough battle and a really good win. It just feels really good to come out on top."
Senior outside hitter also had an impressive day, recording her second double-double in two days with 28 kills, one shy of tying her career-high and third-most in program history in a five-set match, on .362 hitting percentage and 12 digs.
The Bulldogs will head to Auburn next weekend to take on the Tigers this coming Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on both days.
Collectively, the team's offense again produced at a high level, posting a .313 hitting percentage and recording seven aces.
The Bulldogs entered the latter of their weekend matches in a tight contest through the early stages of the opening set. Through the first media timeout, Georgia led 15-13, with neither squad taking more than a three-point lead. The offense was in sync early, though, with Georgia hitting a .542 attacking percentage on 13 kills.
A three-point run for the Bulldogs, capped off by an Amber Stivrins kill, forced the Aggies to take their first timeout of the day. But they were unable to regroup and stop the Georgia offense, with the Red and Black turning it into six-straight points, which Texas A&M responded with its second timeout of the first set, down 22-15. Georgia's offense proved to be too much, taking the first set after Evans' seventh kill of the afternoon, 25-17.
The offensive momentum continued to carry over into the second set, as the Bulldogs took an early 9-5 lead following another Evans kill, forcing an Aggie timeout. Like in the first set, Georgia continued its run after the stoppage of play, again going on a 6-0 run and extending its lead to 13-5. Texas A&M managed to stop the run, but not the Bulldogs continued their offensive pressure. Georgia managed to win the second set, 25-18, with six different Bulldogs earning kills and posting a .429 kill percentage through two sets.
Georgia opened the third set again strong and in control, opening a 9-4 lead after rattling off five consecutive points. However, Texas A&M responded with a 7-1 run of its own, regaining the lead for the first time since going up 9-8 in the first set and forcing head coach Tom Black to call a timeout, now down 11-10. The two teams were even at the set's midway point, tied at 15-all.
While the score still signaled a draw at 21-21, Texas A&M went on to win the next four points and claimed the third set, 25-21. The third set was a battle, and the fourth set went on and became one as well.
The Aggies extended their scoring run into the fourth set, taking an early 3-1 lead with three-straight kills. Following consecutive Georgia attacking errors and trailing 8-5, Coach Black took a timeout to make game plan adjustments. Out of the stoppage of play, Stivrins earned consecutive kills to shrink the Aggie lead to just one point, 8-7.
Neither team gained much of a lead through the middle of the set, with the score tied at 20. Following a booming kill from Evans, her 23rd of the match, Texas A&M called a timeout and earned the subsequent point, leading 23-22. After two-straight blocks from the Aggies claiming the set 25-22, the match was headed into a fifth set.
Much like the previous two sets, neither team held a lead after the first six points, with the score squared at three. Evans got her 24th kill of the day after the Bulldogs went ahead 7-5 and led 8-5 when the sides switched.
The Aggies third attack error of the fifth set gave the Bulldogs a 10-8 advantage as the match reached its final stages. Evans then had thunderous back-to-back kills, but Texas A&M responded with three-straight points of its own to put the score at 13-12, Bulldogs.
After a Georgia timeout, another Evans kill put the score at match point for the Red and Black, which the Aggies responded with a point of their own, to put the score at 14-13. Fischer then collected her 13th kill of the day to finish the match and the set, 15-13, giving the Bulldogs their second five-set win of the weekend.
Head Coach Tom Black
On the team's ability to come back and get the win...
"I think they've really shown that this week. It was a successful week, a little more of a roller coaster than I would have liked. It was positive how responded there in the end."
On Bailey Cox...
"Bailey (Cox) is a spark plug of the team. She's got a super high motor, super passionate. That's infectious. She's going to get a ton better. She's really growing a lot."
#7 Bailey Cox | So. | DS
On her performance...
"It feels good, but I couldn't do it without my team. We respected Texas A&M. We had a good game plan going into tonight. It was a tough battle and a really good win. It just feels really good to come out on top."
On what it means to play with a player like Kacie Evans...
"It is an insane feeling. The fire that she brings, the fire that she gives me that I can feed off of. It's amazing. When she gets a kill, I just want to scream and shout and slap the floor, all of that good stuff. It feels really good."
On what it says about the team to win back-to-back five set matches...
"Tough. Toughness is huge. Staying with your mind of the game plan and keeping your eye on the target and executing that. The execution within that and staying tough the entire time matters."
#23 Kacie Evans | Sr. | OH
On what it means to win back-to-back five set matches...
"It's great to see how much fight we do have, especially playing 15 sets in five days. It says a lot about our fight, how much we do want to compete, how much we do want to be at the top of the SEC. I think having the first two sets on our hands, we knew we wanted to keep winning, keep grinding. I think we just let up a little bit in the third set, which is why I think we flinched a little fourth set. I'm happy for those shots we had. We were putting balls down. We were being a lot more scrappy. We're reading the sets well. We were doing our job later in the fourth and then going into the fifth."
"[Setting a new career-high in digs] feels good, but I couldn't do it without my team," said Cox. "We respected Texas A&M. We had a good game plan going into tonight. It was a tough battle and a really good win. It just feels really good to come out on top."
Senior outside hitter also had an impressive day, recording her second double-double in two days with 28 kills, one shy of tying her career-high and third-most in program history in a five-set match, on .362 hitting percentage and 12 digs.
The Bulldogs will head to Auburn next weekend to take on the Tigers this coming Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on both days.
Collectively, the team's offense again produced at a high level, posting a .313 hitting percentage and recording seven aces.
The Bulldogs entered the latter of their weekend matches in a tight contest through the early stages of the opening set. Through the first media timeout, Georgia led 15-13, with neither squad taking more than a three-point lead. The offense was in sync early, though, with Georgia hitting a .542 attacking percentage on 13 kills.
A three-point run for the Bulldogs, capped off by an Amber Stivrins kill, forced the Aggies to take their first timeout of the day. But they were unable to regroup and stop the Georgia offense, with the Red and Black turning it into six-straight points, which Texas A&M responded with its second timeout of the first set, down 22-15. Georgia's offense proved to be too much, taking the first set after Evans' seventh kill of the afternoon, 25-17.
The offensive momentum continued to carry over into the second set, as the Bulldogs took an early 9-5 lead following another Evans kill, forcing an Aggie timeout. Like in the first set, Georgia continued its run after the stoppage of play, again going on a 6-0 run and extending its lead to 13-5. Texas A&M managed to stop the run, but not the Bulldogs continued their offensive pressure. Georgia managed to win the second set, 25-18, with six different Bulldogs earning kills and posting a .429 kill percentage through two sets.
Georgia opened the third set again strong and in control, opening a 9-4 lead after rattling off five consecutive points. However, Texas A&M responded with a 7-1 run of its own, regaining the lead for the first time since going up 9-8 in the first set and forcing head coach Tom Black to call a timeout, now down 11-10. The two teams were even at the set's midway point, tied at 15-all.
While the score still signaled a draw at 21-21, Texas A&M went on to win the next four points and claimed the third set, 25-21. The third set was a battle, and the fourth set went on and became one as well.
The Aggies extended their scoring run into the fourth set, taking an early 3-1 lead with three-straight kills. Following consecutive Georgia attacking errors and trailing 8-5, Coach Black took a timeout to make game plan adjustments. Out of the stoppage of play, Stivrins earned consecutive kills to shrink the Aggie lead to just one point, 8-7.
Neither team gained much of a lead through the middle of the set, with the score tied at 20. Following a booming kill from Evans, her 23rd of the match, Texas A&M called a timeout and earned the subsequent point, leading 23-22. After two-straight blocks from the Aggies claiming the set 25-22, the match was headed into a fifth set.
Much like the previous two sets, neither team held a lead after the first six points, with the score squared at three. Evans got her 24th kill of the day after the Bulldogs went ahead 7-5 and led 8-5 when the sides switched.
The Aggies third attack error of the fifth set gave the Bulldogs a 10-8 advantage as the match reached its final stages. Evans then had thunderous back-to-back kills, but Texas A&M responded with three-straight points of its own to put the score at 13-12, Bulldogs.
After a Georgia timeout, another Evans kill put the score at match point for the Red and Black, which the Aggies responded with a point of their own, to put the score at 14-13. Fischer then collected her 13th kill of the day to finish the match and the set, 15-13, giving the Bulldogs their second five-set win of the weekend.
Head Coach Tom Black
On the team's ability to come back and get the win...
"I think they've really shown that this week. It was a successful week, a little more of a roller coaster than I would have liked. It was positive how responded there in the end."
On Bailey Cox...
"Bailey (Cox) is a spark plug of the team. She's got a super high motor, super passionate. That's infectious. She's going to get a ton better. She's really growing a lot."
#7 Bailey Cox | So. | DS
On her performance...
"It feels good, but I couldn't do it without my team. We respected Texas A&M. We had a good game plan going into tonight. It was a tough battle and a really good win. It just feels really good to come out on top."
On what it means to play with a player like Kacie Evans...
"It is an insane feeling. The fire that she brings, the fire that she gives me that I can feed off of. It's amazing. When she gets a kill, I just want to scream and shout and slap the floor, all of that good stuff. It feels really good."
On what it says about the team to win back-to-back five set matches...
"Tough. Toughness is huge. Staying with your mind of the game plan and keeping your eye on the target and executing that. The execution within that and staying tough the entire time matters."
#23 Kacie Evans | Sr. | OH
On what it means to win back-to-back five set matches...
"It's great to see how much fight we do have, especially playing 15 sets in five days. It says a lot about our fight, how much we do want to compete, how much we do want to be at the top of the SEC. I think having the first two sets on our hands, we knew we wanted to keep winning, keep grinding. I think we just let up a little bit in the third set, which is why I think we flinched a little fourth set. I'm happy for those shots we had. We were putting balls down. We were being a lot more scrappy. We're reading the sets well. We were doing our job later in the fourth and then going into the fifth."
Team Stats
TA&M
UGa
Kills
59
78
Errors
16
21
Attempts
160
182
Hitting %
.269
.313
Points
72
93
Assists
54
74
Aces
3
7
Blocks
10
8
Game Leaders
Kills
28
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
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