Saturday, September 3
Athens, Ga.
10:30 a.m.
University of Georgia
5-0,0-0SEC
3
vs
0
College of Charleston
2-3,0-0CAA
1
2
3
F
Col. of Charleston
15
19
20
0
Georgia
25
25
25
3
Evans Joins 1,000-Kill Club, Bulldogs Split Matches on Bulldog Classic Day Two
September 03, 2022 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia Bulldogs closed out the Bulldog Classic splitting a win and a loss in its two matches today, standing victorious over College of Charleston, 3-0, and falling to Texas Tech by a 3-1 result. During the third set against the Red Raiders, senior Kacie Evans reached her 1,000th career kill, becoming the 19th player in program history to reach the milestone.
UGA now stands at 5-1 on the season, with all five of its wins coming in sweeping fashion.
Evans had an outstanding day, garnering 38 kills across seven sets from the two matches.
"[Reaching 1,000 kills] Is the biggest blessing," said Evans. "It's one of the goals I had coming in as a freshman when I was given the role to start and going into my senior year. … I had a big conversation with Tom (Black) and everyone involved in our program, and I just wanted to make a change in myself. Getting this tonight, it really does mean a lot to me. I really couldn't have done it without everyone I played with the last four years."
In the day's opening play, which had its first serve commence at 10:30 a.m. ET, Evans shined from all over the floor. Most notably, the senior set a new career high for kills in a three-set match with 20, also adding three service aces, three digs and two blocks to her stat line. The team's passing was also highpoint of the match, with Alexa Fortin and Clara Brower being credited 19 and 20 assists, respectively.
The Bulldogs came out firing, earning their first three points behind kills from outside hitter Evans. The Wadsworth, Ohio native impacted the match in a multitude of ways, even picking up two-straight aces for the service line and forcing a timeout from the Cougars while trailing UGA 17-11.
Georgia played one of its best sets of the young season in the opening frame of the day, with both its offense and defense playing in harmony.
UGA was able to successfully pressure the Cougars, putting 14 attacks into the ground and getting eight kills from Evans alone. The defense forced a .029 hitting percentage from Charleston and posted five blocks in the set, with middle blocker Sophie Fischer contributing three herself.
Both teams battled in the opening moments of the second set, with neither one pulling ahead until an ace from Bailey Cox forced another Charleston timeout with Georgia leading 15-9. After coming out from the pause of play, the Cougars started to claw their way back and went on a 6-2 run to trail by just two.
Thanks to stellar defensive play at the net, the Bulldogs found a way to get into position to close out the set, capped off by a block from Meghan Froemming and Sophie Fischer which put the score at 22-17. Mackenzie Norris then recorded her fourth kill and closed out the set in favor of Georgia, 25-19.
In the final stanza, UGA found a 5-2 lead early but were met by a Cougars squad that refused to give in. Charleston managed to close the gap, trailing just 6-4 and eventually took an 11-10 lead. However, sparked by a Froemming kill, the Bulldogs posted a 3-0 run of their own to regain the advantage, 13-11. The score was still close at the third set media timeout, reading 15-13, Georgia.
UGA then found its footing once again, finding itself up 21-15 after Evans posted her 20th kill of the afternoon, which also is the second-most kills in a three setter in program history. After a successful challenge from head coach Tom Black, confirming the match and set 25-20.
The Bulldogs then opened the final match of the day with its same intensity and momentum. The contest between Georgia and Texas Tech was a war to earn every point, starting from the first one.
To reach the 1,000-kill club, Evans needed to have at least 14 in the match, and she got the first one on UGA's first point of the match. The score stayed neck-and-neck in the first set, with neither team leading by more than three points when the first media timeout came and the score tied at 17 each. A handful of kills from Evans later, Georgia found itself victorious in the first set after Abby Maesch managed to land the ball in Texas Tech territory, winning 25-23.
The Red Raiders came out with authority and quickly commanded a four-point led, 7-3. The Bulldogs tried to come back but could not close the gap easily, with TTU keeping them at bay throughout the second set. Despite a pair of blocks late in the set to tie the match at 21 and again at 23, Texas Tech used its offense to even the match at a set each.
Evans snagged kill number 12 to open the third set with a 5-3 advantage in favor of the Red and Black. Georgia could not put a stop to the many Texas Tech runs throughout the set and found itself in a hole early. Tori Harper snapped an extended 8-2 run and put the ball at the service line for the Bulldogs, now trailing 19-13.
The historic moment for Evans, the Wadsworth, Ohio native, came when her kill put the score at 21-15, TTU. While the run did shift in UGA's favor after it was announced she reached the milestone, it was too much to overcome, dropping the set 25-20.
The fourth frame was again one of tough competition, and both squads keeping the scoring close. Sophie Fischer gave Georgia an edge when she tied her career-high in kills with eight to put her team up one, 15-14, into the media timeout. The junior then went on to set a new career-high with nine, tying the score again at 21 each.
The Red Raiders again used their offense to win, closing out the set 25-23. TTU finished the match with 58 kills on a .295 hitting percentage.
Georgia will next travel to Boston, Massachusetts for the Harvard/Northeastern challenge next weekend. The Bulldogs will open their three-match stretch against Iona on Friday, September 9 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Head Coach Tom Black
On the day overall...
"Yeah, there were lots of positives and things to work on also. We just came off a good test, so we have a lot of lessons to learn from that match."
On Kacie Evan's 1,000th career kill...
"I think she's the face of the program. Everybody sees that. She's a great volleyball player and an even better person. I don't think anybody is surprised by her reaching this milestone, but everybody is happy for her."
On Kacie Evan's legacy at Georgia...
"I think she's going to leave as one of the all-time greats. I know she still feels like she has a lot to accomplish."
Senior outside hitter Kacie Evans
On the team's performance...
"I think just knowing how much we can really compete as a team is saying a lot. Obviously, this morning we had a better response from last night. Texas Tech, they're a good program in the Big 12. They made the tournament last year. We expected them to perform how they did. We just, unfortunately, didn't execute as much tonight. However, there's a big lesson to learn, and I think, overall, we can learn how to keep executing when we're down or even tied. I think that's a big lesson that we learned tonight against a tougher opponent. Now we know how to respond."
On reaching 1,000 career kills...
"It's the biggest blessing. It's one of the goals I had coming in as a freshman when I was given the role to start as a freshman and going into my senior year. I feel like my last two years, my sophomore and junior year, just weren't who I was as a player on and off the court. I had a big conversation with Tom (Black) and everyone involved in our program, and I just wanted to make a change in myself. Getting this tonight, it really does mean a lot to me. I really couldn't have done it without everyone I played with the last four years."
UGA now stands at 5-1 on the season, with all five of its wins coming in sweeping fashion.
Evans had an outstanding day, garnering 38 kills across seven sets from the two matches.
"[Reaching 1,000 kills] Is the biggest blessing," said Evans. "It's one of the goals I had coming in as a freshman when I was given the role to start and going into my senior year. … I had a big conversation with Tom (Black) and everyone involved in our program, and I just wanted to make a change in myself. Getting this tonight, it really does mean a lot to me. I really couldn't have done it without everyone I played with the last four years."
In the day's opening play, which had its first serve commence at 10:30 a.m. ET, Evans shined from all over the floor. Most notably, the senior set a new career high for kills in a three-set match with 20, also adding three service aces, three digs and two blocks to her stat line. The team's passing was also highpoint of the match, with Alexa Fortin and Clara Brower being credited 19 and 20 assists, respectively.
The Bulldogs came out firing, earning their first three points behind kills from outside hitter Evans. The Wadsworth, Ohio native impacted the match in a multitude of ways, even picking up two-straight aces for the service line and forcing a timeout from the Cougars while trailing UGA 17-11.
Georgia played one of its best sets of the young season in the opening frame of the day, with both its offense and defense playing in harmony.
UGA was able to successfully pressure the Cougars, putting 14 attacks into the ground and getting eight kills from Evans alone. The defense forced a .029 hitting percentage from Charleston and posted five blocks in the set, with middle blocker Sophie Fischer contributing three herself.
Both teams battled in the opening moments of the second set, with neither one pulling ahead until an ace from Bailey Cox forced another Charleston timeout with Georgia leading 15-9. After coming out from the pause of play, the Cougars started to claw their way back and went on a 6-2 run to trail by just two.
Thanks to stellar defensive play at the net, the Bulldogs found a way to get into position to close out the set, capped off by a block from Meghan Froemming and Sophie Fischer which put the score at 22-17. Mackenzie Norris then recorded her fourth kill and closed out the set in favor of Georgia, 25-19.
In the final stanza, UGA found a 5-2 lead early but were met by a Cougars squad that refused to give in. Charleston managed to close the gap, trailing just 6-4 and eventually took an 11-10 lead. However, sparked by a Froemming kill, the Bulldogs posted a 3-0 run of their own to regain the advantage, 13-11. The score was still close at the third set media timeout, reading 15-13, Georgia.
UGA then found its footing once again, finding itself up 21-15 after Evans posted her 20th kill of the afternoon, which also is the second-most kills in a three setter in program history. After a successful challenge from head coach Tom Black, confirming the match and set 25-20.
The Bulldogs then opened the final match of the day with its same intensity and momentum. The contest between Georgia and Texas Tech was a war to earn every point, starting from the first one.
To reach the 1,000-kill club, Evans needed to have at least 14 in the match, and she got the first one on UGA's first point of the match. The score stayed neck-and-neck in the first set, with neither team leading by more than three points when the first media timeout came and the score tied at 17 each. A handful of kills from Evans later, Georgia found itself victorious in the first set after Abby Maesch managed to land the ball in Texas Tech territory, winning 25-23.
The Red Raiders came out with authority and quickly commanded a four-point led, 7-3. The Bulldogs tried to come back but could not close the gap easily, with TTU keeping them at bay throughout the second set. Despite a pair of blocks late in the set to tie the match at 21 and again at 23, Texas Tech used its offense to even the match at a set each.
Evans snagged kill number 12 to open the third set with a 5-3 advantage in favor of the Red and Black. Georgia could not put a stop to the many Texas Tech runs throughout the set and found itself in a hole early. Tori Harper snapped an extended 8-2 run and put the ball at the service line for the Bulldogs, now trailing 19-13.
The historic moment for Evans, the Wadsworth, Ohio native, came when her kill put the score at 21-15, TTU. While the run did shift in UGA's favor after it was announced she reached the milestone, it was too much to overcome, dropping the set 25-20.
The fourth frame was again one of tough competition, and both squads keeping the scoring close. Sophie Fischer gave Georgia an edge when she tied her career-high in kills with eight to put her team up one, 15-14, into the media timeout. The junior then went on to set a new career-high with nine, tying the score again at 21 each.
The Red Raiders again used their offense to win, closing out the set 25-23. TTU finished the match with 58 kills on a .295 hitting percentage.
Georgia will next travel to Boston, Massachusetts for the Harvard/Northeastern challenge next weekend. The Bulldogs will open their three-match stretch against Iona on Friday, September 9 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Head Coach Tom Black
On the day overall...
"Yeah, there were lots of positives and things to work on also. We just came off a good test, so we have a lot of lessons to learn from that match."
On Kacie Evan's 1,000th career kill...
"I think she's the face of the program. Everybody sees that. She's a great volleyball player and an even better person. I don't think anybody is surprised by her reaching this milestone, but everybody is happy for her."
On Kacie Evan's legacy at Georgia...
"I think she's going to leave as one of the all-time greats. I know she still feels like she has a lot to accomplish."
Senior outside hitter Kacie Evans
On the team's performance...
"I think just knowing how much we can really compete as a team is saying a lot. Obviously, this morning we had a better response from last night. Texas Tech, they're a good program in the Big 12. They made the tournament last year. We expected them to perform how they did. We just, unfortunately, didn't execute as much tonight. However, there's a big lesson to learn, and I think, overall, we can learn how to keep executing when we're down or even tied. I think that's a big lesson that we learned tonight against a tougher opponent. Now we know how to respond."
On reaching 1,000 career kills...
"It's the biggest blessing. It's one of the goals I had coming in as a freshman when I was given the role to start as a freshman and going into my senior year. I feel like my last two years, my sophomore and junior year, just weren't who I was as a player on and off the court. I had a big conversation with Tom (Black) and everyone involved in our program, and I just wanted to make a change in myself. Getting this tonight, it really does mean a lot to me. I really couldn't have done it without everyone I played with the last four years."
Team Stats
CC
UGa
Kills
31
45
Errors
18
11
Attempts
102
96
Hitting %
.127
.354
Points
36
59
Assists
29
43
Aces
2
7
Blocks
3
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
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