Bulldogs Hit the Road for Coastal Carolina Tournament

Georgia (2-1)
at Coastal Carolina Tournament
Dates: Friday, Sept. 1-Sunday, Sept. 2, 2023
Location: Conway, S.C.
Arena: HTC Center
Participating Teams:
   North Florida (1-2)
   TCU (0-2)
   Coastal Carolina (1-2)

Media Information
Streaming: ESPN+ (vs. Coastal Carolina)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
X: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball hits the road this weekend for its first road test of the 2023 season. The Bulldogs will take part in the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Conway, South Carolina at HTC Center.

Georgia begins action on the weekend Friday morning against North Florida at 10 a.m. then takes on TCU at 5 p.m. that evening. Georgia concludes the tournament Saturday against the host Chanticleers at 3 p.m.

Follow the Bulldogs
» Saturday's match against Coastal Carolina will stream live on ESPN+.
» Live stat links can be found on the volleyball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
» X updates will be available all season long on the official page of the Bulldogs, @UGAvolleyball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
North Florida
- Georgia leads the all-time series 2-0
- The Bulldogs and Ospreys have not met in almost a decade, last meeting in Athens on Sept. 13, 2013
- The first-ever meeting was on a neutral court in 2007 in Statesboro, Georgia
TCU
- Georgia leads the all-time series 1-0
- The lone meeting between the Bulldogs and Horned Frogs came in 2013 in Athens, Georgia swept TCU
Coastal Carolina
- Georgia leads the all-time series 3-0
- Georgia defeated CCU in 2018 in Athens in a five-set match
- The previous meeting between the Bulldogs and Chanticleers was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2010

Recapping Action
The Bulldogs opened the 2023 season going 2-1 in the Classic City Clash at Ramsey Student Center. Georgia began the season with a sweep of UConn on Friday evening. The Bulldogs began the day Saturday with another sweep, this time against Western Carolina. Senior Sophie Fischer tied a career-best 18 kills with a .500 hitting clip in the contest. The weekend concluded with a straight-sets loss to Florida State Saturday evening.

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia returns to Athens to host the Bulldog Classic next week Thursday and Friday. The six-match, round robin tournament will be hosted at Ramsey Student Center. Georgia will host Jacksonville, Army, and Samford. UGA opens the tournament against Jacksonville Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Coaching Connection
North Florida assistant coach Brandon Row was a volunteer coach for Tom Black for three seasons (2019-21) at Georgia. Row is in his first season at UNF after a season at Cal State Bakersfield.

Evans, Fischer Tabbed All-SEC
Graduate Kacie Evans and senior Sophie Fischer were named to the 2023 Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team. Additionally, Georgia was picked to finish fourth in the league this upcoming season, garnering 106 points in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Kentucky was picked as the preseason favorite. Evans finished first in the SEC in total kills and points (578) and second in kills per set, total aces, and aces per set (0.39) last season. Fischer's 183 total blocks finished third all-time at Georgia in a single season and the most in a season in the rally scoring era.

Bulldogs Return Big Numbers
The 2023 Georgia volleyball roster returns a lot of its offensive and defensive production from a season ago that saw the Bulldogs advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. On the offense, Georgia returns 73 percent of its kills total and 65 percent of its total service aces from last season. Kacie Evans led both categories for the Bulldogs last season with 489 kills and 46 aces. On the defensive side of the ball, 77 percent of Georgia's blocking production is back on the front row led by an SEC-best 183 from Sophie Fischer. Mallory Downing along with Bailey Cox and Evans combined for 53 percent of Georgia's returning dig total alone. As a team, 75 percent of the Bulldogs' total digs return this season.

Bulldogs Add Veterans Blakely, Staunton
Georgia hit the transfer portal in 2023, signing Krista Blakely from Eastern Michigan and Erica Staunton from Northeastern. The pair bring four seasons each of collegiate experience and have each begun pursuing their masters degrees at Georgia. Staunton was a three-time All-CAA performer for the Huskies, registering over a thousand kills.

Georgia Poised for Strong 2023 Schedule
The 30-match schedule features 11 opponents that appeared in the 2022 NCAA Tournament including Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Samford, San Diego, Tennessee, and TCU. The AVCA Preseason Top 25 includes five Georgia opponents with an additional five receiving votes in the poll.

Erin Johnson Joins Volleyball Staff
Tom Black announced the addition of Erin "EJ" Johnson to the Bulldogs coaching staff in January. Johnson comes to Athens following a stint as assistant coach for the UC Irvine men's volleyball program, a position she held since January 2019. She was the third woman to serve as an assistant coach for the Anteaters men's team. Johnson played middle blocker for Illinois from 2009-12. She was a junior on the 2011 Illini team that advanced to the NCAA Championship match. Illinois also made Sweet 16 appearances in 2009 and 2010.

Bulldogs Hit the Road for Coastal Carolina Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Krista Blakely

Bailey Cox

Mallory Downing

Kacie Evans

Sophie Fischer

Erica Staunton

University of Georgia Athletics