University of Georgia Athletics
Wednesday, November 1
Athens, Ga.
7 p.m.
University of Georgia
15-8,6-5SEC
3
vs
0
Arkansas
20-4,10-2SEC
1
2
3
F
Arkansas
22
19
22
0
Georgia
25
25
25
3
Fischer Has Career Night in Sweep of No. 8 Arkansas
November 01, 2023 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia volleyball team defeated eighth-ranked Arkansas Wednesday evening at Stegeman Coliseum in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) behind a career-high 22 kills from senior Sophie Fischer.
With its fifth win in the last six matches, Georgia improves to 15-8 on the season and 6-5 in SEC play.
Wednesday's win is Georgia's second over a ranked opponent this season (#10 Georgia Tech, Sept. 15), a feat not accomplished by Georgia since 1993. The Bulldogs have never beaten two top-10 opponents in a season. It's the sixth victory against a ranked opponent in the Tom Black era, the first of its kind at home. Georgia last swept a ranked opponent in 2022 at Florida.
Fischer tallied a career-best 22 kills on a .441 hitting clip Wednesday. On the defensive side of the ball, she put up seven kills with four digs. Her 26.5 points was a three-set rally scoring record at Georgia.
Kacie Evans (12) and Erica Staunton (10) also tipped the double-digit kill marks. Evans' team-leading 10 digs was good enough for her team-best ninth double-double of the season. She also led the team with two aces.
Bailey Cox put up nine digs in the match while Clara Brower handed out 37 assists.
A 5-1 run for Georgia gave the Bulldogs a 15-10 lead at the first set media timeout. At the break, Georgia was hitting .733 as a team. A Fischer ace after the timeout widened the lead to 16-10. A 5-1 run, this time by the Razorbacks (20-4, 10-2), cut Georgia's lead to 21-19, prompting a Dogs timeout. With Georgia holding on to a 22-21 advantage, a pair of Razorback miscues gave Georgia set point, 24-21. Fischer's ninth kill of the opening set finished the frame, 25-22. The Dogs hit .400 in the opener led by a .583 clip from Fischer and five kills on a .571 percentage from Evans.
Georgia jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set then used a 4-0 serving run by Evans including two aces to widen the lead to 12-5 and prompt a Razorback timeout. Evans and Staunton kills extended the lead to 14-5 after the Razorback break. Arkansas narrowed the lead to four, but four-straight by Georgia widened the lead to 22-14. Arkansas responded with four straight points of its own to prompt Georgia's final timeout, 22-18. The Dogs held on to win the set 25-19, going up 2-0 in the match. Fischer added six kills in the second hitting .556.
Both teams nearly went point-for-point to begin the third set. Arkansas began to slowly pull away, finding a 17-14 lead. Georgia capitalized on a couple Arkansas errors to go on a 3-0 run and tie the set at 17. Arkansas sided out then Georgia rattled off four straight to go up 21-18. With Georgia holding on to a 22-21 advantage, three-straight Fischer kills sealed the third set, 25-22, and the sweep. Fischer finished the match with seven third set kills.
The Bulldogs are back on the road, opening a three-match road swing Sunday at Missouri. First serve between the Bulldogs and Tigers is set for 4 p.m., ET.
Head Coach Tom Black
On what it took to sweep a top-10 team...
"It just took good volleyball. I mean, they're a really good team. Obviously, they're a great team. They're as well-coached as it gets, and we were able to sustain a pretty high level for all three sets."
On what went into the team's energy tonight...
"Every point, it's an opportunity or it's a threat, and the game's not very fun when you're treating it like a threat. I think there's been some good maturing and evolution with the team, and they were really playing to try to win the point and not worried about what could go wrong. I think that's a much better way to live and play the game, and you could see it in their energy level."
On what the preparation looks like going forward...
"Yeah, the same. It's a short turnaround. Games are coming like crazy. We're in the second half of conference now, so recovery is as important as anything. We make use of the short practice time that we get, and we get on to the next game."
On how this win helps the team realize its potential...
"They're such a good team, and they're playing at such a high level, so it's impossible not to gain some confidence with this. And then having said that, every game in our conference is so important and so tough, so as much as it helps your confidence, it's also a big challenge. You have to reset because the next team is coming at us just like we're going to come at them. So, we've just got to get ready for Sunday."
#2 Sophie Fischer | MB | Sr.
On how they were able to beat a top-10 team...
"I think all the pressure was on them. They're a great team. They're top 10. They have the number next to their name, but we also beat Georgia Tech, who had the number next to their name. It's like, 'Let's go out there and have fun.' We've proven that we can beat teams like this before, so it was really just about having fun and staying connected through it."
On how the team learned from last week's matchup with Auburn...
"I think we used that as a huge lesson because, obviously, that game did not go how we wanted it to. I think most of it was coming together to figure out what it's going to take for us to finish. I think it's our connection and how good of teammates we can be together or to each other. So, I think today we really stepped up together, took it point by point, and were very present in the moment."
#23 Kacie Evans | OH | Grad.
On her personal performance in tonight's match...
"It was definitely back and forth for me for a little bit. I definitely think there were some times where my back row attack was super strong, and then there were times where I was like, 'Okay, I think I'm just not getting my feet there.' I had to turn it up a little bit with the last two sets to make sure I was hitting a lot of balls out of system and have the hands. I think overall as the match went on, I think I did pretty well, but shoutout to my teammates for making balls easier for me too. It was a lot easier and a lot calmer for me knowing that they had my back and they trusted me putting down the next ball."
On how the team's mentality allowed for a sweep of a top-10 team...
"This is as simple as it gets, but I think we struggled with realizing how fun the game of volleyball is, and I think that took away a lot of our technicalities and what we're learning about in volleyball. Today, knowing that we had an opportunity in our home gym against a really good team, I think it was something that was embraced in the moment, so I think we all honed in on our jobs. We went out and obviously had fun. I think it really showed just based on that, but they also played very well. I think we had way more fun and we were just competing twice as hard."
With its fifth win in the last six matches, Georgia improves to 15-8 on the season and 6-5 in SEC play.
Wednesday's win is Georgia's second over a ranked opponent this season (#10 Georgia Tech, Sept. 15), a feat not accomplished by Georgia since 1993. The Bulldogs have never beaten two top-10 opponents in a season. It's the sixth victory against a ranked opponent in the Tom Black era, the first of its kind at home. Georgia last swept a ranked opponent in 2022 at Florida.
Fischer tallied a career-best 22 kills on a .441 hitting clip Wednesday. On the defensive side of the ball, she put up seven kills with four digs. Her 26.5 points was a three-set rally scoring record at Georgia.
Kacie Evans (12) and Erica Staunton (10) also tipped the double-digit kill marks. Evans' team-leading 10 digs was good enough for her team-best ninth double-double of the season. She also led the team with two aces.
Bailey Cox put up nine digs in the match while Clara Brower handed out 37 assists.
A 5-1 run for Georgia gave the Bulldogs a 15-10 lead at the first set media timeout. At the break, Georgia was hitting .733 as a team. A Fischer ace after the timeout widened the lead to 16-10. A 5-1 run, this time by the Razorbacks (20-4, 10-2), cut Georgia's lead to 21-19, prompting a Dogs timeout. With Georgia holding on to a 22-21 advantage, a pair of Razorback miscues gave Georgia set point, 24-21. Fischer's ninth kill of the opening set finished the frame, 25-22. The Dogs hit .400 in the opener led by a .583 clip from Fischer and five kills on a .571 percentage from Evans.
Georgia jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set then used a 4-0 serving run by Evans including two aces to widen the lead to 12-5 and prompt a Razorback timeout. Evans and Staunton kills extended the lead to 14-5 after the Razorback break. Arkansas narrowed the lead to four, but four-straight by Georgia widened the lead to 22-14. Arkansas responded with four straight points of its own to prompt Georgia's final timeout, 22-18. The Dogs held on to win the set 25-19, going up 2-0 in the match. Fischer added six kills in the second hitting .556.
Both teams nearly went point-for-point to begin the third set. Arkansas began to slowly pull away, finding a 17-14 lead. Georgia capitalized on a couple Arkansas errors to go on a 3-0 run and tie the set at 17. Arkansas sided out then Georgia rattled off four straight to go up 21-18. With Georgia holding on to a 22-21 advantage, three-straight Fischer kills sealed the third set, 25-22, and the sweep. Fischer finished the match with seven third set kills.
The Bulldogs are back on the road, opening a three-match road swing Sunday at Missouri. First serve between the Bulldogs and Tigers is set for 4 p.m., ET.
Head Coach Tom Black
On what it took to sweep a top-10 team...
"It just took good volleyball. I mean, they're a really good team. Obviously, they're a great team. They're as well-coached as it gets, and we were able to sustain a pretty high level for all three sets."
On what went into the team's energy tonight...
"Every point, it's an opportunity or it's a threat, and the game's not very fun when you're treating it like a threat. I think there's been some good maturing and evolution with the team, and they were really playing to try to win the point and not worried about what could go wrong. I think that's a much better way to live and play the game, and you could see it in their energy level."
On what the preparation looks like going forward...
"Yeah, the same. It's a short turnaround. Games are coming like crazy. We're in the second half of conference now, so recovery is as important as anything. We make use of the short practice time that we get, and we get on to the next game."
On how this win helps the team realize its potential...
"They're such a good team, and they're playing at such a high level, so it's impossible not to gain some confidence with this. And then having said that, every game in our conference is so important and so tough, so as much as it helps your confidence, it's also a big challenge. You have to reset because the next team is coming at us just like we're going to come at them. So, we've just got to get ready for Sunday."
#2 Sophie Fischer | MB | Sr.
On how they were able to beat a top-10 team...
"I think all the pressure was on them. They're a great team. They're top 10. They have the number next to their name, but we also beat Georgia Tech, who had the number next to their name. It's like, 'Let's go out there and have fun.' We've proven that we can beat teams like this before, so it was really just about having fun and staying connected through it."
On how the team learned from last week's matchup with Auburn...
"I think we used that as a huge lesson because, obviously, that game did not go how we wanted it to. I think most of it was coming together to figure out what it's going to take for us to finish. I think it's our connection and how good of teammates we can be together or to each other. So, I think today we really stepped up together, took it point by point, and were very present in the moment."
#23 Kacie Evans | OH | Grad.
On her personal performance in tonight's match...
"It was definitely back and forth for me for a little bit. I definitely think there were some times where my back row attack was super strong, and then there were times where I was like, 'Okay, I think I'm just not getting my feet there.' I had to turn it up a little bit with the last two sets to make sure I was hitting a lot of balls out of system and have the hands. I think overall as the match went on, I think I did pretty well, but shoutout to my teammates for making balls easier for me too. It was a lot easier and a lot calmer for me knowing that they had my back and they trusted me putting down the next ball."
On how the team's mentality allowed for a sweep of a top-10 team...
"This is as simple as it gets, but I think we struggled with realizing how fun the game of volleyball is, and I think that took away a lot of our technicalities and what we're learning about in volleyball. Today, knowing that we had an opportunity in our home gym against a really good team, I think it was something that was embraced in the moment, so I think we all honed in on our jobs. We went out and obviously had fun. I think it really showed just based on that, but they also played very well. I think we had way more fun and we were just competing twice as hard."
Team Stats
Ark
UGa
Kills
39
47
Errors
15
18
Attempts
108
105
Hitting %
.222
.276
Points
47.0
60.0
Assists
36
42
Aces
2
5
Blocks
6
8
Game Leaders
Kills
22
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
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/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
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