The Georgia volleyball team hits the road this weekend looking to avenge two conference losses suffered earlier in the season.

First up for the Bulldogs (14-10, 5-8 SEC) will be the ninth-ranked Florida Gators (16-3, 10-2 SEC) and a trip to Gainesville, Fla., where Georgia has not won a match since 1986.

The Gators visited Athens in October and swept Georgia, 3-0, to hand the Bulldogs their fourth consecutive loss at the time before they reeled off three straight victories.

Georgia has turned things around since the Gators last came to town, and head coach Joel McCartney hopes to improve on some of the positives his team has shown since their season-long losing streak was snapped.

“Since that match, I feel like we have grown so much, and we’ve studied Florida on film, and certainly they’re a quality opponent – very deserving of the top-ten place they have right now in the poll,” McCartney said. “But we’ve grown so much in our intensity and confidently being able to stay in a match or come back in a match. If we control those factors early on then we’ll be in the match right away.”

On Sunday, the Bulldogs will head to Columbia, S.C., to take on a South Carolina team that also swept Georgia in Athens last month.

The Gamecocks (12-11, 4-9 SEC) have struggled mightily lately as they have lost four of their last five matches and have dropped to last place in the SEC eastern division standings.

Despite the loss to South Carolina earlier in the season, the Bulldogs still hold a significant edge in the all-time series against the Gamecocks of 40-16, and they look to add onto that dominance on Sunday.

The Bulldogs should be well rested this weekend as they have been idle since their Oct. 30 loss to LSU.

McCartney hopes that the time off has helped improve his team’s emotional and physical health.

“Physically they needed some rest, but mentally they did as well, and as tough as that last week was, it’s great to have that Sunday off,” McCartney said. “We [had Monday] off, they get back to class, and to be able to have a day away from training, to be able to focus on their academics is mentally restful to them.”

Tip-off against the Gators is scheduled for 7 p.m. while the Sunday match against South Carolina is set for 1:30 p.m.