University of Georgia Athletics
Happy And Healthy, Evans Is Soaring
November 04, 2022 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
As Kacie Evans sat and talked before practice earlier this season, behind her on the far wall of the Georgia volleyball meeting room was the word "GROW."
That word has been a cornerstone of coach Tom Black's program since he took over at Georgia in December 2016. And the word was in many ways at the core of what Evans, the talented senior outside hitter, was explaining during an interview.
"My whole demeanor, I just want to be a lot more confident in my ability, in who I am, loving and accepting who I am, and being OK with it," she said. "There are going to be days when I'm not going to feel my best, but I can't have that tear me down or make it affect anyone around me."
That resurgent confidence in herself comes through on the court, where Evans is playing some of the best volleyball of her life. She ranks second in the SEC with 4.09 kills per set, which also ranks 35th nationally. She ranks third in the league and 27th in the country with 4.81 points per set.
"She just gets a little better at everything each year," Black said. "She's more consistent this year — there are not as much of the highs and lows. She's starting to find her stride or her zone, whatever you want to call it."
That self-confidence also comes through off the court. For an art class she's taking, Evans had to do a self portrait, and for inspiration she used a photo she liked from a team photoshoot.
"And I titled it 'Confident' just because for years and years and years, I've hated it when people took pictures of me — I hated it. I wasn't myself because I was trying to fake a smile and I just didn't feel comfortable," she said.
"There was a picture that they took, it was completely authentic. I was completely myself. I looked relaxed and I looked like myself, and I used that. For years, I've struggled with self love and everything. I have struggled, especially with the game of volleyball, too,
"To bounce back this year and have that confident mentality, just really supporting my victories I've had and also having people around me support me — letting that in instead of pushing it out — has been a lot healthier. And that picture alone looked like me."
Evans likes what she's seeing in herself, and she likes what she's seeing in this team.
"This group is special, and I really take time to appreciate every single minute I have around them," Evans said of the Bulldogs, who are 17-6 overall and 8-4 in SEC play heading into Sunday's game against Arkansas at Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia had won five straight matches before falling to No. 20 Kentucky on Wednesday.
With the fierce and fiery Evans, who stands 5-foot-11, the Bulldogs often go as she goes.
"Kacie, she's just a stable rock for me," sophomore defensive specialist Bailey Cox said. "I can look to her at any time, any point in the match, whether we're up 24-1 or it's 25-25, I can look to her and see the look in her eyes, and I know that she's on the same page as me.
"It's a really great feeling to have a teammate like her. I don't know where I would be without her, and the team, the same thing."
A key moment of growth for Evans came earlier this season. With Georgia leading 14-12 in the fifth set against Texas A&M last month — the team's third five-setter in five days — Evans barely missed wide on an attack. In her words, she "buried this ball but it just landed out." A kill would have ended the match, but Evans said she didn't let the error bother her as it probably would have in the past.
"I could have taken that two ways. I could have been like, the match is done and we're going to lose just because (of the error). Or, I could turn it around and be like, 'Set me the ball again, and this time it's going to go in.'
"The difference is, for a lot of athletes, some people will take it the other way. For me, in my head I said, 'We're about to win this match because I know I'm not going to do that again.'"
The Bulldogs are now 6-1 in five-set matches this season after going 4-5 in matches that went the distance last season. That's growth.
"Those five-setters are always something that, you would rather sweep a team, but going into five sets and coming out with a win, it just means so much more," Cox said. "Everyone's putting their sweat, their tears, their blood, whatever, and you end up with a win — there's really no other feeling like it."
Evans said her improved mindset was the result of "many discussions" with Black. She'd been struggling to regain her form and her confidence after a difficult past two seasons due to the pandemic.
"I didn't have COVID my sophomore year, but still being in quarantine (due to close contacts) and not working out for two weeks is going to take a toll on your body," Evans said. "That affected me a lot. And when I had COVID (last season), I was asymptomatic, which is a blessing on my end, but at the same time, I kind of felt it after I got out of quarantine. I really wasn't listening to my body — I was trying to ignore it like COVID didn't affect me. ... I was kind of obsessing over the fact that I wasn't OK, but I played it off like I was."
And now?
"I feel 10 times better than I did last season," she said with a smile. "I'm jumping higher, I'm swinging harder, I'm learning more about the game than I've ever known. It kind of makes me a little more proud of myself rather than being hard on myself."
Evans was the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year after ranking in the top 10 in the conference in kills, points and aces per set. The Bulldogs returned to the NCAA tournament that season, their first appearance since 2013, falling in the first round to Cal Poly.
It was a brief NCAA appearance, but it was a step forward. Now, after a couple of challenging seasons, for Evans and the Bulldogs, Evans is ready to lead Georgia back to the NCAAs, for a longer visit this time.
The good news for Evans and Georgia is that they're both playing well this season. And because of the extra year granted all student-athletes by the NCAA due to the pandemic, Evans will be back for a fifth season next fall.
"She can stay as long as she likes," Black said. "I'm glad she's coming back, that's for sure."
"I'm not done yet," Evans said. "There's a lot of room to improve and a lot of stuff I'm still going for. That kind of keeps me motivated — it's like, what can I do to keep going up and up?"
Staff Writer
As Kacie Evans sat and talked before practice earlier this season, behind her on the far wall of the Georgia volleyball meeting room was the word "GROW."
That word has been a cornerstone of coach Tom Black's program since he took over at Georgia in December 2016. And the word was in many ways at the core of what Evans, the talented senior outside hitter, was explaining during an interview.
"My whole demeanor, I just want to be a lot more confident in my ability, in who I am, loving and accepting who I am, and being OK with it," she said. "There are going to be days when I'm not going to feel my best, but I can't have that tear me down or make it affect anyone around me."
That resurgent confidence in herself comes through on the court, where Evans is playing some of the best volleyball of her life. She ranks second in the SEC with 4.09 kills per set, which also ranks 35th nationally. She ranks third in the league and 27th in the country with 4.81 points per set.
"She just gets a little better at everything each year," Black said. "She's more consistent this year — there are not as much of the highs and lows. She's starting to find her stride or her zone, whatever you want to call it."
That self-confidence also comes through off the court. For an art class she's taking, Evans had to do a self portrait, and for inspiration she used a photo she liked from a team photoshoot.
"And I titled it 'Confident' just because for years and years and years, I've hated it when people took pictures of me — I hated it. I wasn't myself because I was trying to fake a smile and I just didn't feel comfortable," she said.
"There was a picture that they took, it was completely authentic. I was completely myself. I looked relaxed and I looked like myself, and I used that. For years, I've struggled with self love and everything. I have struggled, especially with the game of volleyball, too,
"To bounce back this year and have that confident mentality, just really supporting my victories I've had and also having people around me support me — letting that in instead of pushing it out — has been a lot healthier. And that picture alone looked like me."
Evans likes what she's seeing in herself, and she likes what she's seeing in this team.
"This group is special, and I really take time to appreciate every single minute I have around them," Evans said of the Bulldogs, who are 17-6 overall and 8-4 in SEC play heading into Sunday's game against Arkansas at Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia had won five straight matches before falling to No. 20 Kentucky on Wednesday.
With the fierce and fiery Evans, who stands 5-foot-11, the Bulldogs often go as she goes.
"Kacie, she's just a stable rock for me," sophomore defensive specialist Bailey Cox said. "I can look to her at any time, any point in the match, whether we're up 24-1 or it's 25-25, I can look to her and see the look in her eyes, and I know that she's on the same page as me.
"It's a really great feeling to have a teammate like her. I don't know where I would be without her, and the team, the same thing."
A key moment of growth for Evans came earlier this season. With Georgia leading 14-12 in the fifth set against Texas A&M last month — the team's third five-setter in five days — Evans barely missed wide on an attack. In her words, she "buried this ball but it just landed out." A kill would have ended the match, but Evans said she didn't let the error bother her as it probably would have in the past.
"I could have taken that two ways. I could have been like, the match is done and we're going to lose just because (of the error). Or, I could turn it around and be like, 'Set me the ball again, and this time it's going to go in.'
"The difference is, for a lot of athletes, some people will take it the other way. For me, in my head I said, 'We're about to win this match because I know I'm not going to do that again.'"
The Bulldogs are now 6-1 in five-set matches this season after going 4-5 in matches that went the distance last season. That's growth.
"Those five-setters are always something that, you would rather sweep a team, but going into five sets and coming out with a win, it just means so much more," Cox said. "Everyone's putting their sweat, their tears, their blood, whatever, and you end up with a win — there's really no other feeling like it."
Evans said her improved mindset was the result of "many discussions" with Black. She'd been struggling to regain her form and her confidence after a difficult past two seasons due to the pandemic.
"I didn't have COVID my sophomore year, but still being in quarantine (due to close contacts) and not working out for two weeks is going to take a toll on your body," Evans said. "That affected me a lot. And when I had COVID (last season), I was asymptomatic, which is a blessing on my end, but at the same time, I kind of felt it after I got out of quarantine. I really wasn't listening to my body — I was trying to ignore it like COVID didn't affect me. ... I was kind of obsessing over the fact that I wasn't OK, but I played it off like I was."
And now?
"I feel 10 times better than I did last season," she said with a smile. "I'm jumping higher, I'm swinging harder, I'm learning more about the game than I've ever known. It kind of makes me a little more proud of myself rather than being hard on myself."
Evans was the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year after ranking in the top 10 in the conference in kills, points and aces per set. The Bulldogs returned to the NCAA tournament that season, their first appearance since 2013, falling in the first round to Cal Poly.
It was a brief NCAA appearance, but it was a step forward. Now, after a couple of challenging seasons, for Evans and the Bulldogs, Evans is ready to lead Georgia back to the NCAAs, for a longer visit this time.
The good news for Evans and Georgia is that they're both playing well this season. And because of the extra year granted all student-athletes by the NCAA due to the pandemic, Evans will be back for a fifth season next fall.
"She can stay as long as she likes," Black said. "I'm glad she's coming back, that's for sure."
"I'm not done yet," Evans said. "There's a lot of room to improve and a lot of stuff I'm still going for. That kind of keeps me motivated — it's like, what can I do to keep going up and up?"
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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