MATCH STATS
- Georgia def. Alabama 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20)
- Georgia improves to 11-3 (1-0 SEC); Alabama falls to 11-3 (0-1 SEC)
- Athens, Georgia (SEC Conference Match)
- Box Score
Athens, Georgia – Georgia fed off energy from a packed home court and fed off a few late Alabama errors to sweep the Crimson Tide. The win gives Georgia a 1-0 start to conference play after going just 1-17 in conference play last year, while Alabama drops their SEC opener.
Bringing on a freshman like T’ara Ceasar is a big part to Georgia’s much improved team, as the first-year outside hitter notched 16 kills while hitting .400 for the match. Overall, she led the Bulldogs offense that hit .286 as Meghan Donovan dished out 35 assists.
The defense was strong as well, as after Ginger Perinar (12 kills, .276 for Alabama) and Hayley McSparin (eight kills, .375), Georgia was able to hold the rest of the Crimson Tide down as they hit just .157 as a team.
The biggest difference in the match was how the teams closed out sets. Set one was even at 22-22, but Georgia took care of more opportunities to pull things out 25-23. Then, the Crimson Tide led 23-22 in the second but three straight for Georgia that was capped off with a bad set for Alabama gave the Bulldogs set two by the same score as the first. Set three wound up as the most distant, but it was a 21-19 set until Georgia sprinted to the finish line again.
Moving forward, Georgia stays at home for two more with Auburn coming to town in for a Sunday match while Alabama stays on the road for their second conference match with Ole Miss on their own Sunday meeting.
PRESS RELEASES:
ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia volleyball swept Alabama in straight sets to open conference play on Friday at the Ramsey Center.
Georgia (11-3, 1-0) held the Alabama offense to a .157 hitting percentage, led by four blocks from Anna Kate Karstensand double-digit digs from Kendall Glover. The freshmen tandem SEC Freshman of the Week T’ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie headlined the offense, totaling 16 and 13 kills apiece, complimented by six-kill performances from Amanda Dachsand Majesti Bass.
“I thought a lot of people contributed,” head coach Tom Black said. “We know every match is going to be tough from here on out. With that mentality you’re going to earn your points and not wait for the other team to give it to you.”
Georgia maintained the lead for the majority of the first set, separating itself by as many as seven points at 17-10. Alabama (11-3, 0-1) tied up the match at 22, but a pair of kills from Ceasar set up a Dachs kill on match point, and Georgia took the first frame 25-23.
The Bulldogs strung together five consecutive points early in the second set to go up 7-3, highlighted by respective kills? from Ritchie and Dachs. The Crimson Tide added four of its own uncontested points, however, to force a back-and-forth battle for the secondary frame.
Down one point, back-to-back kills from Ceasar forced an Alabama timeout as Georgia took the lead 21-10. Two more Ceasar kills helped seal the 2-0 Georgia advantage.
The final set featured close scoring until Georgia broke away with a 20-15 margin. Two Bass kills from SEC Setter of the Week Meghan Donovan, who had 35 assists on the match, led the Bulldogs to a 25-20 win.
Georgia’s win marks the first over Alabama in the past seven contests. The Bulldogs continue SEC play against Auburn on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Ramsey Center.
ATHENS, Ga. – Alabama volleyball fell in straight sets Friday night in its SEC opener at Georgia as the Bulldogs defeated the Tide by set scores of 23-25, 23-25, and 20-25.
Alabama (11-3, 0-1 SEC) was stifled offensively, hitting just .157 as a team while Georgia (11-3, 1-0 SEC) hit .286. Sophomore Ginger Perinar led the team with a season-high 12 kills while freshman Christine Jarman and senior Hayley McSparin were close behind with nine and eight, respectively. McSparin hit .375 in the match, making it five-straight matches above .300 for the middle blocker, and senior Leah Lawrence stuffed a team-leading five blocks.
Georgia found some early momentum in set one, pulling ahead 10-5 before Alabama had to take a timeout. A service ace by Kaylee Thomas would cut the deficit to four points at 14-10 but the Bulldogs widened its lead with three-straight points and the Tide took its second team timeout trailing 17-10. After the break, Alabama would close the gap with a 6-1 run, forcing Georgia to burn its first timeout with the score now 18-16. The Tide would continue to fight back, eventually tying the set at 22-22 and the Bulldogs looked to regroup with its second timeout. Georgia would hold on to win the opening set, 25-23.
The Bulldogs opened set two with a 6-2 run but the Tide would fight back to retake the lead with an 8-2 run, forcing Georgia to take a timeout now trailing Alabama, 10-8. After three more lead changes, a 4-0 run put the Tide back in front, 19-17, and the Bulldogs took its second team timeout. The 10th tie score of the set came at 20-20 and then a kill from Georgia gave the home team the one-point lead as Alabama regrouped with a timeout. Later tied at 23-23, Georgia would score back-to-back points and win set two by the same score as set one, 25-23, to take a 2-0 match lead.
Georgia scored the first two points of set three, but Alabama answered back with five-straight, capped with a block from Lawrence and Meghan Neelon and the Bulldogs took a timeout trailing 5-2. Georgia would tie it three times before retaking the lead, 10-9, and Alabama took its first team timeout. The Tide took its second timeout trailing 19-15 and would find itself trailing by four again at set point, 24-20, before Georgia ended it with a kill to complete the three-set sweep.
Next up, Alabama travels to Oxford, Miss. to face Ole Miss (8-4, 0-0 SEC) on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m. CT.
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaVBall on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
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