Bulldogs Drop Four-Set Road Match at No. 24 Auburn

Sunday, October 1

Auburn, Ala.

1 p.m.

University of Georgia

9-6,0-3SEC

Auburn

12-3,2-2SEC

Georgia

Auburn

Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA

October 01, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Georgia volleyball team fell in four sets to 24^th-ranked Auburn Sunday afternoon at Neville Arena, 3-1 (23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 20-25).

The Bulldogs now sit at 9-6 on the season and 0-3 in SEC action after opening conference play against three-straight ranked opponents.

Graduate Kacie Evans recorded her 1,000^th career dig in the first set, becoming the 22^nd member of Georgia's 1,000 Dig Club. With her 1,500-plus career kills, she also becomes the 15^th member of Georgia's Double Grand Club.

Evans led the offensive attack with 16 kills, hitting a very respectable .367 on the outside. She tallied eight digs in the match. Sophie Fischer put up 12 kills with four digs and two blocks.

Georgia also had good offensive production from underclassmen Ceci Gooch (8 kills, .700 pct.), Estelle Haugen (8 kills), and Tori Harper (7 kills).

Libero Mallory Downing put up 10 digs while Bailey Cox and Clara Brower each had nine. Gooch led the team with four blocks on Sunday.

Auburn slowly built up a four-point lead, 14-10, in the opening stanza, prompting a Georgia timeout. Down 22-18, four straight from the Bulldogs, capped by back-to-back Evans kills, tied the set at 22. Auburn fended off the advancing Bulldogs to win the set 25-23. Evans tallied six kills on a .545 hitting clip in the opener.

Georgia found a quick lead in the second, but that lead was erased on a 5-0 Auburn run. A 4-1 Georgia run knotted the set at 14. Back-to-back kills from Fischer gave Georgia the lead, 19-18, and Auburn took a timeout. All square at 21, Auburn went back in front 23-21. Georgia cut it to one twice but fell in the end 25-23.

Tied at eight in the third, a 5-0 Georgia run put the Dogs out in front 13-8 in the must-win set. A 6-1 run lengthened the Bulldog lead to 20-12. The Tigers responded with a 5-1 run to slice the lead to four, 21-17. After a Georgia break, the Bulldogs finished the set winning four of the next five points to stay alive in the match, 25-18.

The fourth set remained close until Auburn began to open a lead of 14-9. The Tigers kept the momentum, going up 20-15. Georgia began to slow the Tigers, winning three straight and cutting the lead to two, 20-18. A Haugen/Gooch block after a timeout made it a one-point game. The Tigers held on to win the set on a 5-1 run, 25-20, and the match in four sets.

The Bulldogs continue their road stretch Friday, Oct. 6 at Mississippi State. The battle of the Bulldogs begins at 7 p.m., ET, streaming live on SEC Network+ from Starkville.