ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia volleyball team concluded a 3-0 week at the Bulldog Classic, sweeping Samford in straight sets at Ramsey Student Center Friday evening, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-21).

The Bulldogs climb to 7-2 going into the final weekend of non-conference play next week in Atlanta.

Sophie Fischer led the offense once again, putting up 13 kills, followed closely by 11 from Kacie Evans. Evans hit a very efficient .688 in the contest.

As a team, Georgia hit .341. Clara Brower handed out 27 assists while Kaiya Tyson recorded seven.

Georgia excelled at the service line Friday, recording nine total service aces, led by a career-best four from Fischer.

Mallory Downing and Brower each tallied nine digs in the three-set affair.

A 4-0 Georgia run built on an early lead in the first, prompting a quick Samford (4-5) timeout, trailing 10-4. Georgia kept the run alive after the break, widening it to seven points and a 13-4 lead. A four-point Samford run cut the lead to 20-12, but Georgia regrouped to finish the set 25-14. Evans put up eight first set kills hitting a very high .727 clip.

Ahead by one, 7-6, Georgia won eight of the next 10 rallies to carry a 15-8 lead into the media timeout. A Bailey Cox ace made it a 17-9 advantage, prompting a Samford break. A serving run of three aces by Fischer lengthened Georgia's lead to 23-11. Tori Harper's fifth kill finished the set for Georgia, 25-14. As a team, Georgia had seven service aces in the second set.

The third set was the closest of the match. Knotted at 13, Georgia won five of the next six points to open an 18-14 lead and force a Samford timeout. Samford cut it to two, 19-17, but a 3-0 UGA run gave the Athens Bulldogs a five-point advantage down the stretch, 22-17. Georgia held on to win the set 25-21, completing the sweep and the 3-0 week of the Bulldog Classic.

Next up, Georgia travels to Atlanta to take part in the Georgia Tech Classic. The Bulldogs face off against rival No. 11 Georgia Tech Friday evening at McCamish Pavilion at 7 p.m. to begin play on the weekend.

Head Coach Tom Black

On what he like to focus on in slower paced games...

"I think it was slower paced because we were playing good pressure. You never know how the game's going to go. Our serving really stepped up this weekend - it put a lot of pressure on everyone we played."

On the team's improvement in this tournament...

"We improved a lot. I thought our mentality improved, we started faster in each match, our serving has taken a huge step up and our out of system setting and out of system hitting really got better in each match. I thought there was a lot of growth this weekend from our team - it was a lot of fun to see."

#12 Clara Brower | S | Jr.

On what the team will work on ahead of the team's Georgia Tech match...

"I think for us as a unit, I just feel like making sure that in each play during a rally we're continuing to play Georgia volleyball by making the simple plays and being the aggressor from the start. Those are all in our control and the more that we can get our mindset on those, we're going to be just fine."

On the team's improvement in this tournament...

"I think that in this tournament that our serving and especially our passing got better. I have so much credit to give to our passers this weekend. I felt like they really flipped that switch for the team. They really put us in system offense all the time and they were just awesome in that back row."