Bulldogs Take Down Lady Vols in Four Sets

Friday, October 4

Athens, Ga.

7 p.m.

University of Georgia

9-4

Tennessee

7-5

Tennessee

Georgia

Photo by: Chamberlain Smith

October 04, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Tennessee Box Score 10419

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia women's volleyball team defeated the Tennessee Lady Vols in four sets Friday evening at Stegeman Coliseum (25-16, 14-25, 27-25, 25-17).

The Bulldogs (10-4, 2-1) put four players in double-digit kills, led by a season-high 19 from freshman Kacie Evans who hit .359 in the match with 10 digs, recording her first career double-double. Junior Rachel Ritchie tallied 14 kills while fellow junior Kianna Young added 10.

At the service line, Georgia recorded a season-best 12 aces led from a career-best six from junior Brynn Chandler. Georgia's 12 aces tied for fourth-most all time in a four-set match in rally scoring history; likewise, Chandler's six aces ranks second in a four-set match all-time.

Defensively, four Bulldogs topped the double-digit dig mark. Along with Evans, junior libero Kendall Glover the led charge with 16 digs. Sophomore Claire Rothenberger tallied 11 digs and Chandler had 10. Young recorded five blocks while Kayla Rivera had four.

An early 8-1 run by the Bulldogs jumped started the opening stanza, putting Georgia ahead by a bunch early, 11-4. Up 19-13, another strong run of five-straight drew set point. A kill by Young sealed the first set for Georgia, 25-16. Ritchie led the offense in the first with five kills while the team as a whole had five aces.

Tennessee (7-6, 1-2) flipped the script on the Bulldogs in the second set, jumping out to an early lead and continually building on it on the stanza. Up 12-9, a 10-1 run put the Lady Vols ahead 22-10 en route to a 25-14 win in the set.

The third set was the closest of the match as it featured five ties and the lead changed twice. With Georgia ahead 16-9, Tennessee used an 8-1 run to tie the set at 17 all. The run continued for the Lady Vols to go ahead 22-18. With the score at 23-10, Georgia won three-straight to pull within one; however, Tennessee drew set point, 24-22. The next two points went to the Dawgs via back-to-back kills from Rivera and Ritchie to tie it at 24. Tennessee regained the advantage, but Georgia regrouped to win the next three and take the set, 27-25, and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Evans tallied eight of her 19 kills in the third set.

Tied at 9-9 in the fourth set, Georgia won four of the next five rallies to open a little lead, 13-10. Tennessee pulled within one, 15-14, but Georgia used a 6-1 run to reopen the lead to six. The Bulldogs held on to wrap the set 25-17 and the match in four. Hot off the third set, Evans added six kills in the fourth.

Up next, Georgia hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum. First serve is set for 2 p.m. Admission is free. Sunday will feature Avengers Day. The first 300 fans will receive a free t-shirt. Also, the first 150 kids will receive a free cupcake. The Bulldogs will also be signing autographs after Sunday's match.

Head Coach Tom Black
On the team's performance in the third set…
"I don't think it was anything I told them. It was just the choice they made. Obviously, we were way up and then they got up. I thought we started making way bigger swings and being way more aggressive. We didn't wait for a point to happen, we started taking them."

On Brynn Chandler's six aces at the service line…
"Serving and passing, that's the backbone of the game. Brynn's got a special arm. She's going to have bigger and bigger runs. We know she has it in her. I think that's just a glimpse of what she can do."

On the match overall…
"It was a fight. It was kind of tale of two matches. We got really aggressive and stayed aggressive. It was good to see us make that switch in the middle of the game."

On the crowd at Stegeman…
"This is everything that we're trying to build. We want to make this the best environment in the country, and the fans are key to making that happen. I hope that they keep coming out and we keep filling this up."

Junior outside hitter Rachel Ritchie
On the team's mentality…
"I think we just knew that the second set is not how we play as a team. We gave them all of our errors and we just needed to reset and start playing for us. When we use our system it really works for us."

On facing Alabama on Sunday…
"We definitely need to work on our communication skills. There were a lot of balls that we had touch communication on, especially with the crowd. We need to keep building on our system with speed and accuracy."

On the crowd…
"It's been amazing to have all of this support. We keep seeing more and more people turnout every year and it's been so amazing to watch this sport grow out here. We love building a family with our fans."

Freshman outside hitter Kacie Evans
On the second set…
"We knew that we needed to regroup. We have the mentality to respond and come back and battle. I think we did a really good job battling back. We knew that they had a good shot range, but we also knew how to shut them down."

On what worked tonight…
"Our communication. We definitely had moments when we faltered. But picking up the third and fourth set we knew how to talk defensively. We read them really well tonight."

On facing Alabama on Sunday…
"We need to keep a strong mentality. We've been playing lots of solid programs within the SEC. So, we know we have to compete each and every game."