Georgia at Home Against Auburn, Mississippi State this Weekend

Georgia (13-7, 4-4)
vs. No. 24 Auburn (15-5, 5-4)
Date: Friday, Oct. 27, 2023
First Serve: 7 p.m., ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum
Admission: FREE (no tickets required)

vs. Mississippi State
Date: Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023
First Serve: 2 p.m., ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum
Admission: FREE (no tickets required)

Media Information
Streaming: SEC Network+
   Play-by-play: Kaleb Frady
   Analysis: Nikki Nicholson Chester
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter/X: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball returns home to Athens to host No. 23 Auburn and Mississippi State this weekend at Stegeman Coliseum.

First serve against the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. on Friday while first serve against Mississippi State is set for 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Follow the Bulldogs
» Both matches will stream live on SEC Network+. Kaleb Frady (play-by-play) and Nikki Nicholson Chester (analysis) will be on the call.
» Live stat links can be found on the volleyball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
» Twitter/X updates will be available all season long on the official page of the Bulldogs, @UGAvolleyball.

Upcoming Promotions and Fan Information at Stegeman
Upcoming Promotions
Oct. 29, vs Mississippi State
Dad and Daughter Day - The first 150 Dads and Daughters that register get a free t-shirt, pre-match pizza party, line the court for intros. Click the link below to sign-up: https://gado.gs/dadanddaughter
Fan Information
» Admission is FREE to all regular-season home volleyball matches.
» The first 28 fans to enter through Gate A at Stegeman Coliseum will receive a wristband and can sit court side. Food and beverage will be provided.
» The SEC Clear Bag Policy will be in effect.
» All concessions and merchandise transactions are cashless/contactless.
     - Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are accepted.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
Auburn
- Georgia leads the all-time series 38-23
- The Dogs are 21-8 against the Tigers in Athens
- Auburn has had the advantage in the last five meetings (4-1) and last 10 (7-3)
- The Bulldogs fell in four sets on the road on Oct. 1
- Prior to a sweep at Stegeman in 2021, Georgia had not beaten Auburn at home since 2014
Mississippi State
- Georgia leads the all-time series 49-16
- Georgia is 23-4 against Mississippi State in Athens
- Georgia swept Mississippi State on the road in Starkville on Oct. 6
- Five of the last six meetings have been in Starkville with an Oct. 2021 matchup being the lone home match for Georgia in that span
- Mississippi State holds the advantage in the last five meetings (3-2), but Georgia holds the advantage in the last 10 (6-4)

Recapping Action
Georgia traveled to College Station, Texas on Sunday, sweeping the host Aggies in three sets to win its third-straight match. Kacie Evans led the offense with 14 kills with a whopping .480 hitting percentage. With 12 digs, she also recorded her sixth double-double of the season. Sophie Fischer tallied 12 kills, four aces, and three blocks for a team-best 18 points. Texas native Clara Brower led Georgia to a .330 hitting clip, the Dogs' highest in SEC play this season. She handed out a three-set season-high 40 assists, just missing a double-double with nine digs. Other notables included nine kills by Erica Staunton and nine digs by Bailey Cox. As a team, Georgia laid down eight service aces.

A Look at What's Ahead
The month of November begins when No. 10 Arkansas comes to Stegeman Coliseum Wednesday, Nov. 1. First serve against the Razorbacks is set for 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum. The Bulldogs then open a three-match road swing Sunday, Nov. 5 at Missouri.

Last Time Against Auburn
Georgia fell in four sets to 24th-ranked Auburn on Oct. 1 (23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 20-25). Kacie Evans led the offensive attack with 16 kills, hitting a very respectable .367 on the outside. 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).

Last Time Against Mississippi State
Georgia earned its first SEC victory of the season on Oct. 6, sweeping Mississippi State on the road in straight sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-16). Sophie Fischer had a huge match, putting up 16 kills in just three sets, hitting .448. Kacie Evans also tallied a double-digit kill performance with 12. Freshman Ceci Gooch recorded eight kills, hitting .500. Defensively, Fischer put up six blocks followed by three from each Gooch and Estelle Haugen.

The Nation's Highest Scoring Middle
Middle blocker Sophie Fischer currently leads the SEC in points per set (5.14) and in total points (375.5). In fact, she's the only SEC player with a points per set average north of 5.0. Nationally, she ranks 13th in points per set and is the nation's highest scoring middle. Her 4.00 kills per set ranks fifth in the league and her 1.3 blocks per set ranks third. Her 0.41 aces per set has also cracked the top 10 in the SEC, ranking fifth,

Lending a Helping Hand
Setter Clara Brower ranks fourth in the SEC with 10.0 assists per set this season. In her third season running the offense, Brower now ranks 10th all-time in total assists with over 2,000 in her career. As Georgia has run a 5-1 offense this season, Brower has recorded a team-best eight double-doubles as her 2.62 digs per set leads the Bulldogs in the category.

Welcome to the Double Grand Club
In the first set at Auburn on Oct. 1, Kacie Evans recorded her 1,000th career dig, becoming the 22nd member of Georgia's 1,000 Dig Club. Additionally, she also secured Double Grand Club status with her more than 1,500 career kills, becoming Georgia's 15th all-time member of that club.

Currently with 1,908 career points, Evans is on track to join all-time greats Priscilla Pacheco (3,018.0), Julia Petruschke (2,264.5), Nikki Nicholson (2,157.0), and Maria Taylor (2,020.0) in the 2,000 Point Club. She now ranks sixth all time in career kills with 1,638. She also ranks top 10 in career sets played, attacks, aces, and total points.

Aces Wild
After acing the Texas A&M Aggies eight times in three sets on Oct. 22, Georgia rose from fourth in the league to second with a 1.79 aces per set average. The Dogs' 131 total aces is also second. Sophie Fischer (0.41) and Bailey Cox (0.36) each appear in the top 10 in the SEC in the category.

Georgia at Home Against Auburn, Mississippi State this Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Clara Brower

Bailey Cox

Kacie Evans

Sophie Fischer

Ceci Gooch

Tori Harper

Estelle Haugen

Erica Staunton

University of Georgia Athletics