University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, August 25
Athens, Ga.
6:30 p.m.
University of Georgia
1-0,0-0SEC
3
vs
0
UConn
0-1,0-0Big East
1
2
3
F
UConn
23
22
13
0
Georgia
25
25
25
3
Bulldogs Record Season-Opening Sweep of UConn, 3-0
August 25, 2023 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia volleyball team swept UConn in the 2023 season opener Friday evening at Ramsey Student Center, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-13).
Georgia opens the seventh season under Tom Black 1-0.
Graduate Kacie Evans led the offense for Georgia with 13 kills while hitting .323 on the match. Senior Sophie Fischer narrowly missed the double-digit kill mark, finishing with nine. Evans laid down three service aces as well in the opener. Junior setter Clara Brower dished out 25 assists as the team hit .283.
On the defensive side of the ball, five different Bulldogs tallied seven digs each. Fischer tallied five blocks while sophomore Tori Harper had three.
UConn (0-1) jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, 6-1. Down 16-13, the Bulldogs used a 7-1 run, sparked by back-to-back Brower aces, to go ahead 20-17. A four-point Huskie run gave UConn back the advantage, 23-22, prompting a Georgia timeout. After the break, a Fischer kill and a Harper ace drew set point. Estelle Haugen and Fischer sealed the set with a block, 25-23. Evans had six kills on a .556 clip to begin the match.
The second set was the closest of the match, featuring 13 ties and six lead changes. With UConn out in front 19-17, the Dogs mounted a five-point run to go ahead 22-19. Georgia held on to take the set 25-22 and the 2-0 lead in the match. Fischer's five kills and three blocks paced the Dogs in the second set.
The third set started tight, but quickly became all Bulldogs. A 10-2 Georgia run propelled the Dogs out in front 16-7. Down 19-8, UConn rattled off five-straight points to cut the lead to 19-13. Georgia responded with six-straight to roll to a 25-13 set three win and the sweep of the Huskies.
Georgia is back in action Saturday at 10:30 a.m. hosting Western Carolina. The Bulldogs then take on Florida State at 7 p.m. at Ramsey Center.
Georgia Head Coach Tom Black
Opening Statement...
"I am glad we won it. There was some typical first game stuff there. There is always some good and some bad. I really liked how the girls fought at the end of sets one and two. I thought we really steadied down in set three and started serving and hitting it in better. They gave us a good first test. It was a great crowd. We were excited to have them. Really good individual performances. Sophie Fischer, offensively. I thought Clara (Brower) did a good job running the offense. Mallory Downing was super consistent for us in the back row. A lot to build off of."
On seeing the team rally...
"Really encouraging. It is really easy to tighten up. I thought we got bigger and more aggressive. That is a really good sign. Definitely a positive."
On the atmosphere for the first match...
"We really appreciate the crowd. They packed it and were really loud. They gave it a ton of energy. We want the most aggressive home court advantage we can possibly have, so we really appreciate the turnout. Hopefully we can keep building off of it."
Graduate Kacie Evans
On how the team responded in the opening set…
"UConn is also very aggressive team, they're very scrappy. They really handled us based on the serve and pass game as well. We were passing great at the very beginning. And I think the passers really took me like, 'Hey, like we can honestly do better than this'. And I think we really responded within the last two sets. They came out with fight, they were really good team offensively. They were strong. They got strong pins, their libero picks up everything, their setter has great tempo. All around, they're very aggressive team. We just put a lot more pressure at the end."
On the crowd noise tonight…
"Wherever we're playing, if it's Ramsey, Steg, if it's at a high school gym, I know we're going to have an awesome fan base supporting us. I'm really glad whoever can make it out tonight, came out tonight and we love them, we just keep praying that we have more, that we can fill out this whole entire gym right here, and just keep going for it. I just love when they get engaged with all of our plays too, just because I love how everyone wants to keep learning about the game of volleyball."
Junior Clara Brower
On contributing in all areas of the game...
"I think it felt great. I feel like I bring a lot of energy to the team, and I love being able to put my teammates in really good situations. When I see them getting good kills or great digs, that fuels my fire. Being able to return that favor any way I can, it's awesome."
On how the team responded to deficits early in the match...
"I think we responded really well. I feel like we were really connected, and we pushed back. We didn't let those long reps continue. I feel like if there were a few points where we were struggling, we came together as a team, we talked about it, and then we pushed back and became the aggressor."
Georgia opens the seventh season under Tom Black 1-0.
Graduate Kacie Evans led the offense for Georgia with 13 kills while hitting .323 on the match. Senior Sophie Fischer narrowly missed the double-digit kill mark, finishing with nine. Evans laid down three service aces as well in the opener. Junior setter Clara Brower dished out 25 assists as the team hit .283.
On the defensive side of the ball, five different Bulldogs tallied seven digs each. Fischer tallied five blocks while sophomore Tori Harper had three.
UConn (0-1) jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, 6-1. Down 16-13, the Bulldogs used a 7-1 run, sparked by back-to-back Brower aces, to go ahead 20-17. A four-point Huskie run gave UConn back the advantage, 23-22, prompting a Georgia timeout. After the break, a Fischer kill and a Harper ace drew set point. Estelle Haugen and Fischer sealed the set with a block, 25-23. Evans had six kills on a .556 clip to begin the match.
The second set was the closest of the match, featuring 13 ties and six lead changes. With UConn out in front 19-17, the Dogs mounted a five-point run to go ahead 22-19. Georgia held on to take the set 25-22 and the 2-0 lead in the match. Fischer's five kills and three blocks paced the Dogs in the second set.
The third set started tight, but quickly became all Bulldogs. A 10-2 Georgia run propelled the Dogs out in front 16-7. Down 19-8, UConn rattled off five-straight points to cut the lead to 19-13. Georgia responded with six-straight to roll to a 25-13 set three win and the sweep of the Huskies.
Georgia is back in action Saturday at 10:30 a.m. hosting Western Carolina. The Bulldogs then take on Florida State at 7 p.m. at Ramsey Center.
Georgia Head Coach Tom Black
Opening Statement...
"I am glad we won it. There was some typical first game stuff there. There is always some good and some bad. I really liked how the girls fought at the end of sets one and two. I thought we really steadied down in set three and started serving and hitting it in better. They gave us a good first test. It was a great crowd. We were excited to have them. Really good individual performances. Sophie Fischer, offensively. I thought Clara (Brower) did a good job running the offense. Mallory Downing was super consistent for us in the back row. A lot to build off of."
On seeing the team rally...
"Really encouraging. It is really easy to tighten up. I thought we got bigger and more aggressive. That is a really good sign. Definitely a positive."
On the atmosphere for the first match...
"We really appreciate the crowd. They packed it and were really loud. They gave it a ton of energy. We want the most aggressive home court advantage we can possibly have, so we really appreciate the turnout. Hopefully we can keep building off of it."
Graduate Kacie Evans
On how the team responded in the opening set…
"UConn is also very aggressive team, they're very scrappy. They really handled us based on the serve and pass game as well. We were passing great at the very beginning. And I think the passers really took me like, 'Hey, like we can honestly do better than this'. And I think we really responded within the last two sets. They came out with fight, they were really good team offensively. They were strong. They got strong pins, their libero picks up everything, their setter has great tempo. All around, they're very aggressive team. We just put a lot more pressure at the end."
On the crowd noise tonight…
"Wherever we're playing, if it's Ramsey, Steg, if it's at a high school gym, I know we're going to have an awesome fan base supporting us. I'm really glad whoever can make it out tonight, came out tonight and we love them, we just keep praying that we have more, that we can fill out this whole entire gym right here, and just keep going for it. I just love when they get engaged with all of our plays too, just because I love how everyone wants to keep learning about the game of volleyball."
Junior Clara Brower
On contributing in all areas of the game...
"I think it felt great. I feel like I bring a lot of energy to the team, and I love being able to put my teammates in really good situations. When I see them getting good kills or great digs, that fuels my fire. Being able to return that favor any way I can, it's awesome."
On how the team responded to deficits early in the match...
"I think we responded really well. I feel like we were really connected, and we pushed back. We didn't let those long reps continue. I feel like if there were a few points where we were struggling, we came together as a team, we talked about it, and then we pushed back and became the aggressor."
Team Stats
UConn
UGa
Kills
25
38
Errors
22
12
Attempts
87
92
Hitting %
.034
.283
Points
33.0
54.0
Assists
24
36
Aces
5
7
Blocks
3
9
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
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