Bulldogs Set for Tournament in Golden State

Georgia (3-0)
at UCI/Adidas Invitational
Dates: Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2018
Match Times:
     Friday, 3:30 p.m., ET – Texas Tech (4-0)
     Friday, 10 p.m., ET – UC Irvine (1-2)
     Saturday, 6 p.m., ET – Cal State Bakersfield (1-2)
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Arena: Bren Events Center

Media Information
Streaming Video: BigWest.TV
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball (3-0) travels to California this weekend to take part in the UCI/Adidas Invitational in Irvine.

The Bulldogs will open tournament play against Texas Tech Friday at 3:30 p.m., ET, before taking on host UC Irvine at 10 p.m. that evening. A matchup with Cal State Bakersfield at 6 p.m. Saturday will wrap up the action in the Golden State.

Follow the Bulldogs
• Georgia's match against UC Irvine will be streamed live and for free on BigWest.TV.
• Live stats will be available for all matches of the UCI/Adidas Invitational. Links can be found on the volleyball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
• Twitter updates will be available all season long on the official Twitter page of Georgia volleyball, @UGAvolleyball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Texas Tech
• Georgia trails the all-time series 2-3
• The Bulldogs and Red Raiders met a season ago; Georgia won in four sets
• As a team, Georgia set a program record for kills in a four-set match with 69 against Texas Tech last season
• In last season's match, T'ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie recorded 23 and 21 kills, respectively, ranking second and third in Georgia rally scoring history for kills in a four-set match
• Georgia won the first-ever meeting in 1986, lost the next three (1990, 1991, 2005), and broke the streak with last season's victory
UC Irvine
• First meeting
Cal State Bakersfield
• First meeting

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia travels to Boulder, Colorado for the Buffs Classic, hosted by #21 Colorado, next weekend. The Bulldogs will take on the Buffs Friday at 8 p.m., ET, to open tournament play. The 2018 Rose Bowl will be contested on the volleyball court when Georgia plays Oklahoma Saturday at 2 p.m. The tournament will conclude with Georgia and North Carolina facing off on Sunday.

Let's Recap
The Bulldogs opened the 2018 season going 3-0 and winning the Benson Hospitality Invitational at Stegeman Coliseum last weekend. Georgia defeated Coastal Carolina in five sets to begin the season. In day two action, Georgia swept Furman before defeating Illinois State in four sets. T'ara Ceasar was named Tournament MVP and Rachel Ritchie and Meghan Donovan earned All-Tournament honors.

Donovan Named SEC Setter of the Week
Meghan Donovan was named the first SEC Setter of the Week for the 2018 season on Monday. Donovan averaged 11.08 assists a set on opening weekend (leads the SEC) while running a Bulldog offense that hit .286 (second in the league). She recorded double-doubles in all three matches, tallying 39 digs (3.25 per set) to rank second on the team for the weekend. She also assisted on six blocks. This is the fourth SEC Setter of Week award for the junior from St. Louis, Missouri.

Cali Connections
This weekend's trip to Irvine, California will be a homecoming for a number of Bulldogs. The coaching staff came to Athens from Loyola Marymount, in the Los Angeles area. Sophomores Rachel Ritchie (San Juan Capistrano) and Brynn Chandler (San Diego) are California natives while freshmen Sage Naves (Agoura Hills) and Kayla Rivera (Ventura) are each from the LA area.

A Perfect Start... Again
2018 is the fourth-straight season Georgia volleyball has opened with a 3-0 record. It's also the sixth time in the last seven years the Bulldogs have done so.

SEC Preseason Poll
The Bulldogs were picked to finish in the top four of the Southeastern Conference, garnering 105 points in voting by the league's head coaches. 2017 co-champion Kentucky, picking up eight first-place votes and 140 points, has been chosen to win the league in 2018. The Bulldogs were picked tied with LSU with 105 points.

Ceasar Tabbed Preseason All-SEC
Sophomore T'ara Ceasar was voted Preseason All-SEC by the league's head coaches. As a freshman, she was an All-SEC and All-Freshman Team pick, becoming the first All-SEC freshman Bulldog since Jasmine Eatmon in 2012. She became the first in Georgia history to receive seven SEC weekly honors in one season, breaking the previous record of two by a freshman Bulldog. Ceasar was named to the 2017 AVCA All-Southeast Region Team, finishing the season as the highest-ranked freshman nationally in kills (4.14) and points per set (4.79).

Breaking Down the Roster
Georgia returns five starters plus a libero in 2018. In all, 11 letterwinners return. The squad features Preseason All-SEC outside hitter T'ara Ceasar and AVCA All-Southeast Region honorable mention setter Meghan Donovan. A strong sophomore class featuring Ceasar, Rachel Ritchie, and Kendall Glover look to help guide Georgia to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013. New to the roster in 2018 is a trio of true freshmen in middle blocker Sage Naves (Agoura Hills, Calif.), outside Kayla Rivera (Ventura, Calif.), and opposite Mallory Hernandez (Fishers, Ind.).

2018 Schedule at a Glance
The 29-match schedule will feature 12 contests in Athens, set to be played in Stegeman Coliseum. SEC play begins at Stegeman on Sept. 21 when Georgia hosts LSU. The 2018 schedule features four teams that finished in the AVCA final top 25: #2 Florida, #6 Kentucky, #19 Colorado, and #20 Missouri. Six teams on Georgia's schedule competed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Georgia will conclude the regular season with four-straight matches at home beginning Nov. 15 against Auburn.

Ceasar, Ritchie Compete Internationally
Sophomores T'ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie each competed internationally over the summer. Ceasar was one of 12 student-athletes who competed for the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team in China over the summer. The USA went 4-1. Ritchie played for Bring It Promotions (BIP) in the Binh Dien Tournament in Vietnam. The USA finished second after dropping a five-set championship match.

Georgia Volleyball Cited in APR Recognition
Georgia Volleyball was one of four Bulldog varsity sports teams publicly recognized by the NCAA for outstanding achievement in the annual NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) report. The recognition honors teams that scored in the top ten percent of all teams across the country in each sport.

Georgia Finished in Top Four of SEC in Every Offensive Category
The Georgia offense placed itself in the top four of every offensive category in 2017, including hitting percentage, assists, kills, and service aces. The conference rankings featured Georgia at the top in service aces with a 1.57 average, highlighted by T'ara Ceasar who led the team in service aces in 12 matches last season.

The Bulldogs were fourth at .243 in hitting percentage. In kills, Georgia boasted a third-place position (13.75), fueled by outside hitters Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie at third and fourth in the individual rankings. Meghan Donovan headlined the Georgia assists, providing her own third-place spot with 10.95 per match, bringing Georgia to its fourth position as a team 12.91 assists per set.

Black in His First Season
In his first season at Georgia, head coach Tom Black placed 22 W's in the win column. Of the six head coaches before him, he topped five of them in their first season. Jim Iams guided the Bulldogs to a 30-4 season in his first year at the helm (1989). Georgia also appeared in the NIVC that season.

Last Season in Non-Conference play
Georgia went 10-3 in non-conference play in 2017, which included three tournaments. After opening the season 4-0 at home, Meghan Donovan and Kendall Glover headlined the Bobcat Invitational at Ohio. The next weekend, Georgia was crowned tournament champions at the Wildcat Invitational at Davidson, with Glover and Rachel Ritchie being named respective Tournament MVP and All-Tournament.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brynn Chandler

Meghan Donovan

Kendall Glover

Mallory Hernandez

Sage Powell

Rachel Ritchie

Kayla Rivera