PROVO, Utah - The University of Georgia volleyball team fell in straight sets to fifth-seeded Arizona State in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Friday evening at Smith Fieldhouse (21-25, 12-25, 20-25).

The Bulldogs conclude the 2023 campaign 19-12, the seventh season under head coach Tom Black.

In the third set, junior Bailey Cox recorded her 1,000th career dig. She becomes the 23rd member of Georgia's 1,000 Dig Club.

Sophie Fischer led the Bulldog attack with nine kills followed by seven from Kacie Evans. Tori Harper and Erica Staunton each tallied six kills.

Cox put up 11 digs in the contest with her 1,000th coming in late in the third set. On the net, Ceci Gooch put up three blocks to lead the team while Fischer and Harper tallied two each.

A four-point run put Georgia ahead 6-3 in the opening set. Arizona State (27-6) responded with three-straight to tie it at 6-all then kept the momentum to lead 15-13 at the first set media timeout. After the break, Georgia strung together three points to go back in front 16-15, capped by a Harper kill. ASU stormed back in front heading down the stretch, 21-19, prompting a Georgia timeout. The Sun Devils held on, taking the opening set 25-21. Staunton led the offense with three first set kills on a .600 hitting clip. The set featured 12 ties and four lead changes.

The Sun Devils won six-of-eight points to go ahead 10-6 and force an early Georgia timeout in the second set. ASU won three of the next four after the break to force Georgia's final timeout, down 13-7. The Sun Devils kept rolling, finishing the set on a 9-0 run, 25-12.

ASU carried its momentum into set three going up four on a 6-1 run, 8-4. After a Georgia timeout down four, the Dogs used a 6-1 run to tie the set at 18-all. ASU regrouped to win the next four, 22-18, going up down the stretch. Georgia couldn't find the momentum again, falling 25-20.

Head Coach Tom Black
Opening statement...
"Congrats to Arizona State. I thought they played great. Obviously not our best match, but again I thought they played really well. I think one of the highlights of the season for me is what we had to do to get in here. I told the team in the locker room - the last 12 days where we had four matches, all of them do or die - and the way the team responded and fought to get here, it was something that I was just really proud of that really represented who they were."

On what Kacie Evans means to Georgia Volleyball...
"Kacie, she's set all the records and done everything that you could hope to do as a Georgia Dawg. She's been the face of the program for a long time, and she can hold her head high for where this program started and where she's helped to take it. She'll be remembered for as long as anyone's playing Georgia Volleyball."

On the program's future prospects after playing in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments...
"We're on a mission to be a nationally elite program. That's where we all know Georgia should be, so there are steps that have to happen to get there. Making it back-to-back was a step, and there are more steps to come. Every time you take a step it feels great, and then if you don't make the next step, it feels awful, and you've got to push to get to that higher level. Again, it was a good step, and there's more to go."

#12 Clara Brower | S | Jr.
On how Georgia can become a national powerhouse...
"I think that we've definitely shown glimpses of the standard that we have to continue to get better every day to be able to become a national powerhouse. I think that the biggest one is how often can we be ourselves and Georgia Volleyball, and how many points in a row we can do that. I think that we've definitely gotten better at it, but I do think that is, going into next year, something that is a huge key factor, and I'm excited to get back to work."

#23 Kacie Evans | OH | Gr.
On what it has meant to be a Georgia Bulldog...
"I can tell a story, but just to keep it short and simple, it's been unreal. I've played with a lot of people. I've played with coaches - obviously they come and go - but I've never been more blessed to be part of a program. It definitely hasn't hit me yet, so definitely not as emotional trying to keep it all in. But this team, this year especially, I'm obviously a fifth-year senior. That's a long time to be at a program, but I'm very happy that I stayed. I was very happy that we made the tournament the last year. Going back-to-back was also something special, and having it be the third time as well overall, that's something special. Not a lot of people can say that, too. I think I've learned a lot about myself as a person and a player, and that's the only thing I really can take it in is that's what I truly have learned at this program. I could say it to everyone across the country: Come be a Georgia Bulldog, and you could see how much you can learn about yourself."

On what clicked for Georgia in its third set run...
"It was similar to what Clara just said. It's just getting back to us and who we are, just how aggressive we can be each point and how often we can respond. That's just the game of volleyball, and I think we were really doing that. Unfortunately, it didn't click for us in the last few points of the match, but I think it's a great learning point from the last set and going on for this program."