Bulldogs Earn Sweep of Rebels in Oxford

Friday, November 15

Oxford, Miss.

7:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

18-7 (10-4SEC)

Ole Miss

14-11 (6-8SEC)

Georgia

Ole Miss

Photo by: Petre Thomas, Ole Miss Athletics

November 15, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Georgia volleyball team swept the Ole Miss Rebels Friday evening at the Gillom Center (25-18, 25-19, 25-21).

The sweep is Georgia's third in conference play this season and first since Oct. 30. Georgia also sweeps the home-and-home series with the Rebels for the first time since 2013.

Freshman Kacie Evans tallied 14 kills to lead the Georgia (18-7, 10-4) offense. She also put up 10 digs in the contest, recording her sixth double-double of the season. Junior Kianna Young had nine kills while fellow junior Rachel Ritchie had seven. As a team, Georgia hit .239 Friday.

Defensively, junior libero Kendall Glover put up 15 digs while Young recorded five blocks. The Bulldogs out-blocked the Rebels 7-6 in Friday's match.

Senior setter Meghan Donovan narrowly missed a double-double of her own, finishing with 32 assists and eight digs.

Georgia found a lead of 11-6 in the opening set but Ole Miss (14-11, 6-8) used a 6-1 run to knot the set at 12 all. At the first set media timeout, Georgia lead 15-13. A 6-2 run for Georgia opened a 21-16 lead for the Bulldogs. Georgia finished the set on a 4-0 run with Dalaney Hans at the service line, winning set one 25-18. Evans tallied seven first set kills with four digs to lead the team in each category. As a team, Georgia hit .345 in the opening stanza.

Ole Miss opened the second set with a 5-2 lead, but a four-point run for Georgia gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 advantage. The Rebels responded with a four-point run to take an 11-9 lead. Down 14-13, Georgia rolled on a 7-1 run to capture a 20-15 lead in the second set. Georgia kept the Rebels at bay the remainder of the set, taking the second 25-19 and widening the lead in the match to 2-0. Evans added four more kills while three other Bulldogs added three each. Georgia held the Rebels to a negative hitting percentage in the second set at -.061.

Up by one in set three, 5-4, Georgia won four of the next five rallies to open an 8-5 lead. Ole Miss knotted up the set at nine, but a 5-0 Georgia run gave the Bulldogs a 14-9 lead. Ole Miss was able to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 19-16 but a 5-1 run ensued by Georgia to draw set point, 24-17. Ole Miss kept the match alive by winning the next four points but a kill from Young secured the sweep for the Dawgs, 25-21. Young wrapped up the match with five third-set kills.

Up next, Georgia travels southeast to Starkville for a matchup with Mississippi State on Sunday. First serve against the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m., ET.

Head coach Tom Black
On the road sweep…
"It's always tough to come into an SEC gym and earn a sweep so I'm really proud of the team there. I thought our block defense and our passing were really strong so there were some good takeaways from the match."

Looking ahead to Sunday's match in Starkville…
"Mississippi State is a tough team. They've played multiple five-set matches and they're much improved. They're going to come in fighting and we've got to be ready for another tough battle."