The Georgia women’s volleyball team took to the road Sunday and brought home a 3-1 win from Auburn, AL over the Tigers. The win marked the Lady Dawgs fifth in a row where they move to 14-4 on the year and 6-1 in conference play.

“We saw some good but still have a lot to work on,” said head coach Tom Black after the match. “We gave up the lead in the third set and were kind of on our heels after that.”

Coach Black mentioned both sophomore Mallory Hernandez and junior Rachel Ritchie when it came to the team’s offense. Ritchie led the Dawgs with 17 kills and she leads the team in both points, with 229.5, and kills, with 214, on the season. After Ritchie, sophomore Kayla Rivera had 13 kills and junior Kianna Young tallied 12. 

“Our serving picked up and Mallory Hernandez gave us a nice offensive boost,” said coach Black. “I thought Rachel Ritchie was really solid for us the whole time offensively.”

Georgia was also solid on defense. Four Volley Dawgs reached the double-digit dig mark led by 22 from junior Kendall Glover followed by 15 from Claire Rothenberger, a season-high for the sophomore, while senior setter Meghan Donovan added 14 and freshman Kacie Evans with 13.

“We had a great defensive effort and Claire Rothenberger really led that for us. I’m glad we scrapped it out,” said Coach Black. “We would’ve like to have played better but glad we got the win.” 

The win over Auburn moves Georgia into a four-way tie at the top of the SEC standings with Florida, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. And speaking of Ole Miss, the Bulldogs host the Rebels for a big-time SEC showdown in Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. EST, which will be televised on ESPNU.