Bulldogs Hold on to Defeat LSU in Five Sets

Sunday, October 13

Athens, Ga.

2 p.m.

University of Georgia

12-5,3-3SEC

LSU

9-7,4-2SEC

LSU

Georgia

October 13, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score LSU Box Score 101319

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia Bulldogs women's volleyball team defeated the LSU Tigers in a five-set thriller Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum (16-25, 25-18, 25-16, 21-25, 17-15).

Sunday's match was Georgia's annual Pink Match. Donations to UGA Relay for Life totaled $1,296 towards cancer research.

In the final points of the match, junior Rachel Ritchie recorded her 1,000^th-career kill. She becomes the 18^thmember of the 1,000-Kill Club and the first Bulldog since 2014 to eclipse the career mark.

Freshman Kacie Evans tallied her fourth double-double in as many matches, finishing with 15 kills and 10 digs. She added two aces and two blocks.

Ritchie followed Evans offensively with 14 kills and a career-best five blocks. Sophomore Sage Naves picked up 12 kills and added five blocks for the Bulldogs (13-4, 5-1). Junior Kianna Young was the fourth Bulldog to top double-digits, finishing with 11 while adding two aces and three blocks.

Junior Kendall Glover put up 17 digs while tying a season-high six assists. Senior Meghan Donovan handed out 46 assists Sunday.

A strong start to the opening stanza by the Tigers (9-7, 3-3) propelled LSU to an opening-set victory and a 1-0 lead in the match. Georgia fell behind early in the set, taking a timeout down 6-1. A 5-1 Bulldog run later in the set gave Georgia some momentum, but the early lead was too much to overcome as LSU took the set 25-16.

Down 11-10 in the second set, the Bulldogs used a 5-1 run to take a three-point lead on the Tigers, 15-12. Holding onto a 17-15 lead, Georgia extended its advantage with a five-point run late in the stanza, 22-16. The Bulldogs wrapped the set at 25-18 to knot the match up at a set apiece. Young tallied five kills in the set while sophomore Kayla Rivera added four of her own.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, highlighted by back-to-back aces by Evans in the third set. Georgia used the early advantage to win the third set 25-16 and capture a 2-1 lead in the match. Evans tallied seven kills on 10 attempts in the third to top the double-digit mark.

Knotted up at 14 in the fourth, LSU used a 6-2 run to open a lead on the Bulldogs. LSU was able to keep Georgia at arm's length to win set four 25-21 and force a fifth set. Six of Ritchie's 14 kills came in the fourth set.

In the winner-take-all fifth set, LSU took a very quick 5-1 lead. Georgia continued to battle but LSU didn't let the Bulldogs take too much. Down 13-10, the Bulldogs rattled off three-straight points including two kills from Naves to tie it up at 13 all. LSU's Taylor Bannister laid down a kill to draw match point but a Tiger service error kept the Bulldogs in the match. Ritchie's 1,000^th kill drew match point for the Bulldogs, 15-14, followed by a timeout from the Tigers. A Tiger kill out of the timeout knotted it up again but Georgia regained the advantage on a kill from Young. Sophomore Claire Rothenberger stepped to the service line and aced LSU to secure the victory.

Georgia is back in action next Sunday at Auburn. First serve, to be aired on SEC Network, is set for 1 p.m., ET, against the Tigers.

Head Coach Tom Black
On what he told the team entering the fifth set...
"I told us to stop hurting ourselves. LSU is a great team and number seven was tearing us up. We were making a ton of unforced errors in our nets and our hitting errors too. We just had to steady out and let our good plays work. I thought we showed a lot of heart fighting through that."

On the fans...
"This is such a great environment, and it's only getting better. It's great to see the support and the support growing. We want to do right by the fans for sure."

Junior Rachel Ritchie
On 1,000 kills…
"It feels unreal. It's weird to think about all these individual kills and how they add up to 1,000. I'm just incredibly thankful to everyone on my team."

On the fans…
"Every single time we have a home game, we know that the fans are going to be right there with us. We know they're going to be sharing the point right there with us. It's hard to be that energetic, especially when you lose two sets and have to go to five, so they're a big help."

Junior Kianna Young
On the game...
"It's a slow build-up. Just getting into a groove and running our system. I think it's just little things in the game. For example, we have a really good 'ace' and that just brings the whole team up. Then we get set at that level and keep moving up."

Senior Meghan Donovan
On what motivated the team…
"I think just playing our game. When we play as a group and not as individuals, that is when we thrive. Towards the end we really played as a team and I think that is what really let us win the final set."

On Rachel Ritchie…
"She's a great teammate and a great player. She's always intense and we can always count on her so it's such a great reward and I am really happy for her."