[su_spacer size=”40″] “I thought we were much more resilient than we have been,” said head coach Lizzy Stemke. “The ability to come out in leads, hold leads and fight back from deficits is something that we are doing better and better every day. Tonight I thought our fight was really, really tough. I thought we passed, on the whole, really well. We distributed the ball a lot because we got the pass. A lot of good things to draw on. It’s obviously a frustrating loss, but we’re going to take some of those positives of our fight, our pass and our distribution, and keep forging ahead.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Amanda Dachs led Georgia with her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 17 digs. Maddie Lobenstein followed with 14 kills. Megan Spencer also put up double-digit kills with 10, as Kendall Kazor dished out 42 assists. Defensively, Cassidy Anderson put up a career-best 21 digs to go with Kazor and Jasmine Eatmon’s five blocks apiece.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia had to battle LSU’s Gina Tillis who put down 35 kills and 19 digs. Her offensive production was the most kills by a Georgia opponent since rally scoring began in 2008. LSU had four players with double-digit digs, including Haley Smith with a match-best 24.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs led by as much as six points in the early set, but LSU came from behind to win 25-21. It was a complete opposite result in the second frame, as Georgia fought its deficit to take the 25-19 win. Down 13-10, Georgia worked its way to a 22-16 lead, scoring seven-straight points under the serve of Anderson. The Bulldogs held the Tigers to a -.029 hitting mark in the frame.
[su_spacer size=”40″] It was back and forth for much of the third set until a block from Desiree McCray and Kazor gave Georgia a 15-12 lead. The Tigers got within one point late, including holding off Georgia’s set point at 24-23, but a Dachs kill sealed the 2-1 advantage. In the fourth set, LSU’s .324 hitting percentage propelled it tie the match after a 25-18 win before carrying that momentum to the fifth.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia got up 5-3 in the deciding frame before Tillis came on the attack, notching all nine of the Tigers’ kills to earn the overall win.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia hits the road for the first time in league play when it next heads to Ole Miss on Friday, Oct. 9 and Mississippi State on Sunday, Oct. 11. Both games will be available to watch on SEC Network+/WatchESPN.
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