57 minutes ago
Georgia Athletics
Photo: Georgia Athletics
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia volleyball team defeated eighth-ranked Arkansas Wednesday evening at Stegeman Coliseum in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) behind a career-high 22 kills from senior Sophie Fischer.
With its fifth win in the last six matches, Georgia improves to 15-8 on the season and 6-5 in SEC play.
Wednesday’s win is Georgia’s second over a ranked opponent this season (#10 Georgia Tech, Sept. 15), a feat not accomplished by Georgia since 1993. The Bulldogs have never beaten two top-10 opponents in a season. It’s the sixth victory against a ranked opponent in the Tom Black era, the first of its kind at home. Georgia last swept a ranked opponent in 2022 at Florida.
Fischer tallied a career-best 22 kills on a .441 hitting clip Wednesday. On the defensive side of the ball, she put up seven kills with four digs. Her 26.5 points was a three-set rally scoring record at Georgia.
Kacie Evans (12) and Erica Staunton (10) also tipped the double-digit kill marks. Evans‘ team-leading 10 digs was good enough for her team-best ninth double-double of the season. She also led the team with two aces.
Bailey Cox put up nine digs in the match while Clara Brower handed out 37 assists.
A 5-1 run for Georgia gave the Bulldogs a 15-10 lead at the first set media timeout. At the break, Georgia was hitting .733 as a team. A Fischer ace after the timeout widened the lead to 16-10. A 5-1 run, this time by the Razorbacks (20-4, 10-2), cut Georgia’s lead to 21-19, prompting a Dogs timeout. With Georgia holding on to a 22-21 advantage, a pair of Razorback miscues gave Georgia set point, 24-21. Fischer’s ninth kill of the opening set finished the frame, 25-22. The Dogs hit .400 in the opener led by a .583 clip from Fischer and five kills on a .571 percentage from Evans.
Georgia jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set then used a 4-0 serving run by Evans including two aces to widen the lead to 12-5 and prompt a Razorback timeout. Evans and Staunton kills extended the lead to 14-5 after the Razorback break. Arkansas narrowed the lead to four, but four-straight by Georgia widened the lead to 22-14. Arkansas responded with four straight points of its own to prompt Georgia’s final timeout, 22-18. The Dogs held on to win the set 25-19, going up 2-0 in the match. Fischer added six kills in the second hitting .556.
Both teams nearly went point-for-point to begin the third set. Arkansas began to slowly pull away, finding a 17-14 lead. Georgia capitalized on a couple Arkansas errors to go on a 3-0 run and tie the set at 17. Arkansas sided out then Georgia rattled off four straight to go up 21-18. With Georgia holding on to a 22-21 advantage, three-straight Fischer kills sealed the third set, 25-22, and the sweep. Fischer finished the match with seven third set kills.
The Bulldogs are back on the road, opening a three-match road swing Sunday at Missouri. First serve between the Bulldogs and Tigers is set for 4 p.m., ET.
