University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, December 2
Austin, Texas
9:00 p.m.
University of Georgia
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Texas
24-1,14-1Big 12
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Georgia
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Photo by: Matt Smith
Georgia’s Historic Season Ends Against No. 1 Texas, 3-0
December 02, 2022 | Volleyball
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Georgia women's volleyball team fell in straight sets to top-seeded Texas Friday evening at Gregory Gym in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament (14-25, 16-25, 15, 25).
The Bulldogs' historic season ends with a 23-8 record.
The 2022 season saw Georgia exceed expectations on the court, finishing third in the SEC and registering a program best 13 conference wins. The Bulldogs' 11th NCAA Tournament appearance included a 3-1 win over No. 8 Towson Thursday, Georgia first tournament victory since 1995.
Georgia's offense was led by senior outside hitter Kacie Evans' 13 kills. Junior Sophie Fischer registered seven kills in the contest.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore libero Bailey Cox put up 12 digs while Fischer had a pair of blocks.
Georgia came out of the gate in front until four-straight from Texas (24-1) put the Longhorns ahead 8-5. Kills from Amber Stivrins and Evans sliced the lead to one, 10-9, before UT responded with three-straight, prompting a Bulldog timeout. Evans broke the run out of the break, but Texas came back with three points to exhaust the Dogs' timeouts, 16-10. Texas kept its foot on the gas, taking the first set 25-14. Fischer tallied six kills for Georgia in the opening set.
Knotted at five in the second, a 4-0 run put the Longhorns out in front 9-5, forcing a Bulldog timeout. Down 10, a Sage Powell/ Meghan Froemming block sparked four-straight points for the Dogs, narrowing the lead to 16-10 and prompting a Longhorn timeout. The Bulldogs got as close as five before Texas regrouped and rolled to a 25-16 win in the second set. Evans picked up seven kills for the Bulldogs on a .417 hitting percentage.
Ahead 5-4, Texas put together a six-point run to propel forward 11-4, exhausting both Georgia timeouts in the third. Georgia couldn't string together rallies to chip away at the Texas lead, ultimately falling in the third 25-15.
The Bulldogs were one of six SEC teams to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As a league, the SEC led all conferences with seven teams in the postseason.
Georgia Head Coach Tom Black
Opening statement…
"Congratulations to Texas, they're number one for a reason. I'm sure they're going to continue to do great in the bracket. I'm proud of our team. Nobody expected us to do anything this year, but these girls fought, and I think wr surpassed everybody's expectations. It's always bitter to end this way, but I'm super proud of everything these girls accomplished and the way they did it over these past 12 months."
On the foundation of the program in 2022…
"There're three components. We've built this program up pretty quickly, then the wheels came off during COVID-19. We're definitely in a day and age of instant gratification and a lot of people bail when things get hard, but these girls did the opposite. I think that really speaks to their character and their willingness to stay together and work through it and learn from it. Usually, when things get hard, you're going to bail or you're going to going to get down and work, and these girls did that. I think our freshman class and Sophie Fischer coming in was a huge injection, both to the talent level and the culture of the program. I think, as a coaching staff, we all looked inside and knew we had to get better for these girls. So, I think those three things came together this year."
On the state Southeastern Conference volleyball…
"It's changed dramatically. The spotlight in the SEC is pretty bright and there's been a tremendous amount of coaching changes since I've been in the conference and I think that's increased the level of play and the level of players continues to rise. Obviously, Texas is coming in and along with Oklahoma, so it's only going to get tougher and that's only going to increase the spotlight. So, it's changed dramatically. It's obviously one of the top conferences in the country or seven teams wouldn't get in. It's been night and day. It's not the same conference at all from when I came."
Senior outside hitter Kacie Evans
On what the season meant for the program…
"This is going to go down as one of the most historic seasons we've ever had, winning our first NCAA Tournament round in 27 years, that says a lot and it says a lot about our growth. This senior class that I got the pleasure to play with for the last four years, they've been unreal. We went through a lot. It's really hard to go through the things that we've gone through, but we were able to push through, and they were able to come back and support us. We were doing a really great job handling that. This season, with Sophie [Fischer] coming in, making a huge impact on our program, just her leadership and her presence on the court says a lot about her character as well. It's one of my favorite seasons I've played, and I can't wait for next year, for my fifth season."
The Bulldogs' historic season ends with a 23-8 record.
The 2022 season saw Georgia exceed expectations on the court, finishing third in the SEC and registering a program best 13 conference wins. The Bulldogs' 11th NCAA Tournament appearance included a 3-1 win over No. 8 Towson Thursday, Georgia first tournament victory since 1995.
Georgia's offense was led by senior outside hitter Kacie Evans' 13 kills. Junior Sophie Fischer registered seven kills in the contest.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore libero Bailey Cox put up 12 digs while Fischer had a pair of blocks.
Georgia came out of the gate in front until four-straight from Texas (24-1) put the Longhorns ahead 8-5. Kills from Amber Stivrins and Evans sliced the lead to one, 10-9, before UT responded with three-straight, prompting a Bulldog timeout. Evans broke the run out of the break, but Texas came back with three points to exhaust the Dogs' timeouts, 16-10. Texas kept its foot on the gas, taking the first set 25-14. Fischer tallied six kills for Georgia in the opening set.
Knotted at five in the second, a 4-0 run put the Longhorns out in front 9-5, forcing a Bulldog timeout. Down 10, a Sage Powell/ Meghan Froemming block sparked four-straight points for the Dogs, narrowing the lead to 16-10 and prompting a Longhorn timeout. The Bulldogs got as close as five before Texas regrouped and rolled to a 25-16 win in the second set. Evans picked up seven kills for the Bulldogs on a .417 hitting percentage.
Ahead 5-4, Texas put together a six-point run to propel forward 11-4, exhausting both Georgia timeouts in the third. Georgia couldn't string together rallies to chip away at the Texas lead, ultimately falling in the third 25-15.
The Bulldogs were one of six SEC teams to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As a league, the SEC led all conferences with seven teams in the postseason.
Georgia Head Coach Tom Black
Opening statement…
"Congratulations to Texas, they're number one for a reason. I'm sure they're going to continue to do great in the bracket. I'm proud of our team. Nobody expected us to do anything this year, but these girls fought, and I think wr surpassed everybody's expectations. It's always bitter to end this way, but I'm super proud of everything these girls accomplished and the way they did it over these past 12 months."
On the foundation of the program in 2022…
"There're three components. We've built this program up pretty quickly, then the wheels came off during COVID-19. We're definitely in a day and age of instant gratification and a lot of people bail when things get hard, but these girls did the opposite. I think that really speaks to their character and their willingness to stay together and work through it and learn from it. Usually, when things get hard, you're going to bail or you're going to going to get down and work, and these girls did that. I think our freshman class and Sophie Fischer coming in was a huge injection, both to the talent level and the culture of the program. I think, as a coaching staff, we all looked inside and knew we had to get better for these girls. So, I think those three things came together this year."
On the state Southeastern Conference volleyball…
"It's changed dramatically. The spotlight in the SEC is pretty bright and there's been a tremendous amount of coaching changes since I've been in the conference and I think that's increased the level of play and the level of players continues to rise. Obviously, Texas is coming in and along with Oklahoma, so it's only going to get tougher and that's only going to increase the spotlight. So, it's changed dramatically. It's obviously one of the top conferences in the country or seven teams wouldn't get in. It's been night and day. It's not the same conference at all from when I came."
Senior outside hitter Kacie Evans
On what the season meant for the program…
"This is going to go down as one of the most historic seasons we've ever had, winning our first NCAA Tournament round in 27 years, that says a lot and it says a lot about our growth. This senior class that I got the pleasure to play with for the last four years, they've been unreal. We went through a lot. It's really hard to go through the things that we've gone through, but we were able to push through, and they were able to come back and support us. We were doing a really great job handling that. This season, with Sophie [Fischer] coming in, making a huge impact on our program, just her leadership and her presence on the court says a lot about her character as well. It's one of my favorite seasons I've played, and I can't wait for next year, for my fifth season."
Team Stats
UGa
UT
Kills
28
37
Errors
21
7
Attempts
89
82
Hitting %
.079
.366
Points
34
54
Assists
28
35
Aces
3
9
Blocks
3
8
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
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