Georgia volleyball proved it can compete against the nation’s best last weekend.

This weekend’s upcoming slate of matches will give them a chance to prove they not only can compete, but they can win.

“We played the very best volleyball that I’ve seen us play since I’ve been here on Sunday,” head coach Joel McCartney said. “We didn’t have enough with the way we played Sunday to get it done against the No. 8 team (Kentucky) in the country, but if we play that level of volleyball, it’s enough to win a lot of matches.”

Georgia (11-7, 2-5 SEC) and the Ramsey Student Center will host conference matches tonight and Sunday against South Carolina and No. 9 Florida, respectively.

The Gamecocks (10-7, 2-6) come to Athens looking to end a four-match losing streak and to buck the historical trend of this matchup. The Bulldogs dominate the all-time series against South Carolina 40-15.

However, the first weekend match has been the Achilles heel of Georgia this season, as five of the Bulldogs’ seven losses have come on a Friday this season.

“We are addressing some concerns about how we start our weekend and not just continue to try and fix things, but be able to be in a position where we can start well on Friday,” McCartney said. “That will be our focus going into the South Carolina match this weekend.”

The No. 9-ranked Gators (12-3, 6-2 SEC) return to Athens looking for revenge after last year’s Georgia squad ended an 18-year losing streak against Florida.

The Bulldogs will need to repeat the level of performance they showed against Kentucky if they are going to edge the Gators this year, or if they plan on utilizing the upcoming five-match home stand to get back to a respectable conference record.

“We’ve got a strong shot at winning four out of five, and we’ve got a shot at winning them all,” McCartney said. “I think everybody believes that.”

Tonight’s match versus South Carolina will tip-off at 7 p.m. at the Ramsey Student Center. Conference play will resume on Sunday against Florida at 1:30 p.m.