Georgia Volleyball 2015 Season-In-Review

Though the wins and losses may not be what one wants in a season, the 2015 Georgia volleyball team proved that success can be viewed beyond paper and stats and be seen with attitude and team chemistry.

A youthful team with seven newcomers and one senior, the Bulldogs wrapped the year with a 5-25 record and 0-18 in SEC play, but showed their determination never waivered, standing toe-to-toe with many opponents until the very end of a set, of a match and of the season.

"This was a certainly a year of transition for us—a lot of new people, learning new systems, and we faced our fair share of adversity," said head coach Lizzy Stemke. "The positive was that this team never gave up, all stayed 100 percent committed to whatever we were doing, and we have already had a number of individual meetings where they are ready to get back out there. I think the resiliency of this group is an extremely optimistic sign for the future."

Multiple Bulldogs stepped up as team leaders, including redshirt senior Jasmine Eatmon, who finished her career with 734 kills, a .308 hitting clip and 350 blocks in 434 sets played. The California native set her place in Georgia history, as her .308 hitting percentage is seventh and 302 block assists are 10th in Georgia's all-time career records. In her final campaign, Eatmon posted 155 kills, 78 blocks and 12 service aces.

"Our team has an incredible amount of respect for Jasmine in the way that she goes about her business, her life, her work ethic and, certainly, her stable personality," Stemke said. "In the highs and the lows, she is really steady. Her teammates look to her for her composure and her calming voice. When things are going well, she is going to give a lot of energy to others. This team knows and respects Jasmine's career in what she gives to this program and what she gives to her teammates on a daily basis."

The team opened the year with three-straight wins at the Benson Hospitality Invitational, making it four-straight seasons Georgia opened 3-0. Sophomore Maddie Lobenstein had a coming out party, notching 20 kills and a .375 hitting mark in the tourney, including 11 kills and no errors in the win over Memphis, on her way to MVP honors. The Wisconsin product rounded out the season with 184 kills.

After gaining wins over Mercer in the Georgia Challenge and VCU in its last non-conference match, adversity hit the Georgia squad. A few games after a competitive 3-2 loss to LSU, redshirt sophomore Amanda Dachs went down with a season-ending knee injury. The team leader in kills at the time, Dachs closed her season with 157 kills, good for 2.80 per set, 129 digs, 23 blocks and 10 aces. Then with five games remaining, junior Elle McCord took an injury at Mizzou, forcing the starting libero to the bench after collecting 198 digs and 11 aces.

Though two staples to the lineup were out, plenty of Bulldogs took charge. Redshirt junior Desiree McCray once again led the team with 104 blocks to go with a team-best .249 clip and 165 kills. Fellow classmate Megan Spencer was the team leader in kills with 191 on the right side.

Sophomore Cassidy Anderson served as the team's libero a majority of the year on her way to a team-high 289 digs while ranking in the top 10 of the conference with 31 aces, good for 0.31 per match.

Six of the team's seven freshmen saw action on the court, as 15 Bulldogs are slated to return for the 2016 season. Georgia also adds a pair of standout signees in middle blocker Kianna Young and setter Meghan Donovan.