Bulldogs Clash with Auburn on SEC Network Sunday

Georgia (13-4, 5-1)
at Auburn (6-10- 0-5)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019
Time: 1 p.m., ET
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Arena: Auburn Arena

Media Information
TV: SEC Network
     Play-by-play: Trent Denning
     Analysis: Jenny Hazlewood
Streaming Video: SEC Network+
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter: @UGAvolleyball

First Serve
Georgia volleyball is back in action this Sunday at Auburn. First serve on SEC Network is set for 1 p.m., ET, from Auburn Arena.

Follow the Bulldogs
» Sunday's match will air nationally on SEC Network. Tyler Denning will call play-by-play while Jenny Hazlewood will provide analysis.
» Sunday's match will stream live on the SEC Network+ via ESPN.com and the ESPN app.
» Live stat 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 the Bulldogs, @UGAvolleyball.

Upcoming Promotions at Stegeman
Wednesday, Oct. 23 vs. Ole Miss
» FREE admission to all regular-season home matches; the Clear Bag Policy will be in affect
» All season long, the first 30 fans at Gate A at Stegeman Coliseum can sit courtside and will receive free food

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series History
Auburn
- Georgia leads the all-time series 36-19
- In Auburn, Georgia is 15-8 all-time against the Tigers
- The teams split the home-and-home series with each team winning on their opponent's home court
- Auburn has won seven of the last 10 meetings
- Last season's win in Auburn snapped a four-match losing streak to the Tigers

A Look Ahead
Up next, Georgia returns to Stegeman Coliseum for a midweek matchup against conference leader Ole Miss on Wednesday. The match, set to be televised on ESPNU, will begin at 9 p.m. Georgia then travels to Texas A&M Oct. 27.

Let's Recap
The Bulldogs completed a 2-0 weekend with a pair of five-set wins, first at #12 Kentucky then at home against LSU. Georgia toppled #12 Kentucky on its home court Friday in a five set thriller. The Bulldogs opened the match with a pair of 25-23 set wins to take a 2-0 lead on the Wildcats. Kentucky rallied to win sets three and four to tie the match and force a decisive fifth set. The Bulldogs rebounded to win the final frame, 15-12, and the match. The win snapped Kentucky's 29-match SEC winning streak, delivering the Wildcats their first conference loss since Nov. 1, 2017. It's the first victory over Kentucky since 2013 when the Bulldogs defeated the then 15th-ranked Wildcats in five in Athens. The Bulldogs returned home to host LSU on Sunday. A slow start from the Bulldogs allowed the Tigers to take a 1-0 lead but Georgia rebounded to win the next two stanzas and find a lead in the match. LSU won the fourth to force a fifth set. The Bulldogs battled back to win a long fifth set 17-15 to capture the victory.

A Positive Start in League Play
Through six SEC matches, Georgia has won five of its six contests. Through six matches, it's Georgia's best start to league play since opening the 1994 season 6-0. Georgia's best SEC start was 9-0 the season prior in 1993.

Evans Named SEC Player of the Week
Freshman Kacie Evans was named the SEC Player and Freshman of the Week on Oct. 14. It was Evans' second-straight Freshman of the Week award and the third time this season. She helped guide the Bulldogs to two wins including a five-set victory over #12 Kentucky on its home court. In the match, Evans recorded 15 kills and put up 10 digs. She matched both marks in a five-set thriller over LSU at Stegeman Coliseum. The matches extended the rookie's double-double streak to four.

Bulldogs receiving votes in Poll
Georgia received votes in the week seven AVCA Poll released Oct. 14. Georgia last received votes in 2017, Tom Black's first season. The Bulldogs have not been ranked in the top-25 poll since the 1996 preseason poll (#24). Georgia's highest-ever ranking came Oct. 26, 1993 when the Bulldogs received a rank of #13.

The Newest Member of the 1,000-Dig Club
Junior libero Kendall Glover recorded her 1,000th-career dig in the third set in Georgia's win over #12 Kentucky Oct. 11. The last to reach 1,000 digs was Cassidy Anderson in 2017. Glover is the 20th member of the 1,000-Dig Club.

Welcome to the 1,000-Kill Club
Junior outside hitter Rachel Ritchie was inducted into the 1,000-Kill Club in the fifth set of the LSU match on Oct. 13. The last to eclipse the 1,000-kill mark was Tirah Le'au in 2014. Ritchie is the 18th member of the 1,000-Kill Club.

Helping Hands
Senior setter Meghan Donovan, Georgia's lone senior, ranks sixth all-time with 4,387 career assists. That figure ranks sixth amongst active career leaders in Division I. This season, her 11.38 assists per set ranks seventh in the country and is currently second in the SEC. As a junior, she earned SEC Setter of the Week four times and ranked second in the league with 11.07 assists per set, coming in at 29th nationally.

The Bulldogs at Home
Georgia has opened the 2019 home schedule with a 5-0 record. In the first three seasons under Tom Black, Georgia has recorded a record at home of 23-11. Season one saw Georgia go 12-5 in Athens. The 2018 season was the first full-time season for Georgia volleyball in Stegeman Coliseum as Georgia went .500 at 6-6. In home-opening tournaments the last two seasons, the Bulldogs are 7-0.

Donovan, Evans Earn SEC Honors
Meghan Donovan and Kacie Evans earned SEC Setter and Freshman of the Week honors, respectively, following wins over Tennessee and Alabama. Donovan dished out 13.57 assists per set on the weekend as the Bulldogs hit .263 over seven sets. Her 47 assists against Alabama tied a rally scoring record at Georgia for assists in three sets. Evans began the weekend with a season/career-high 19 kill and a .359 hitting clip against Tennessee with 10 digs. She followed it up with 15 kills and a season-best 11 digs against the Crimson Tide. Over two matches, she averaged 4.86 kills/set and 3.00 digs/set.

Going Streaking
Georgia's recent six-match winning streak was the longest since opening the 2018 season, winning seven straight. Georgia's recent streak was the second-longest for the Bulldogs in the Tom Black era.

Evans Garners Freshman of the Week
Freshman Kacie Evans was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 23. The outside hitter from Wadsworth, Ohio tallied a season-best 16 kills in both matches at home last week, averaging 4.00 kills a set. She hit .467 against NC State Thursday evening, committing only two attack errors. She followed it up on Friday hitting .306 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets along with recording a season-high four aces at the service line. She also averaged 2.00 digs per set over the two matches.

A New Volleyball Home Attendance Record
Georgia's home match against rival Georgia Tech on Sept. 20 set a new home attendance record of 3,480. The previous record was 3,222 set on Oct. 16, 2012 when Georgia hosted Georgia Tech in Stegeman Coliseum.

Strong Finish to Non-Con Play
After starting the first two weeks of the season 3-3, Georgia has won its last five matches to conclude the non-conference slate 8-3. Now through three seasons of non-conference tournaments under Tom Black, Georgia has compiled a 27-8 record. In 2017, Georgia was 10-3 while putting up a 9-2 mark a season ago.

O Canada!
In February 2019, Tom Black was named the head coach of the Canadian Women's Indoor National Team. Volleyball Canada won the FIVB Women's Challenger in Lima, Peru in June, qualifying for the Nations League Tournament in 2020. While it did not qualify for Tokyo 2020 in Russia in August, Canada will have another opportunity to qualify in January.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Meghan Donovan

Kacie Evans

Kendall Glover

Rachel Ritchie

University of Georgia Athletics