Georgia (0-0)

at Samford (0-0)
Date: Friday, Aug. 29
First Serve: 7:30 p.m., ET
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Arena: Pete Hanna Center
 
vs. Troy (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 30
First Serve: 5:00 p.m., ET
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Arena: Pete Hanna Center
 
Media Information
Streaming: ESPN+ (Samford match only)
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter/X: @UGAvolleyball
  
First Serve
Georgia volleyball begins the 2025 campaign Friday, Aug. 29, opening play at the Samford Invitational. Georgia will square off against host Samford at 7:30 p.m. in at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham. The Bulldogs will take on the Troy Trojans on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. to close out opening weekend play.
 
Follow the Bulldogs
– Friday’s match at Samford will stream live on ESPN+.
– Live stat links can be found on the volleyball schedule on GeorgiaDogs.com.
– Twitter/X updates will be available all season long on the official page of the Bulldogs, @UGAvolleyball.
 
BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
Samford
– Georgia leads the all-time series 2-0
– Georgia and Samford played in 2023 in the Bulldog Classic in Athens; Georgia swept Samford at Ramsey
Troy
– Georgia leads the all-time series 4-2
– The Bulldogs swept the Trojans in the most recent meeting in 2022 in Athens
– Prior to the 2022 meeting, Georgia and Troy had met in 2012, the first meeting since 1980
– The first four meetings in the series came between 1978 and 1980
 
A Look at What’s Ahead
The 2025 home schedule kicks off Sept. 4-5 at Stegeman Coliseum when Georgia hosts the Classic City Clash. Alabama State, Texas Tech, and Duke will travel to Athens for the six-match round robin tournament. The action kicks off with Georgia and Alabama State on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 10:30 a.m. Admission to every home match is free.
 
Harper Named Nominee for Allstate NACDA Good Works Team
Redshirt-junior Tori Harper has been named one of 128 nominees, including three SEC volleyball nominees, for the inaugural Allstate NACDA Good Works Team (Fall), recognizing male and female student-athletes across all divisions and sports who go above and beyond in their commitment to community service, academic achievement and athletic performance. Harper, from Reno, Nevada, was Georgia’s representative on the 2024 SEC Volleyball Community Service Team.
 
Coaching Connection
Troy head coach Josh Lauer was on staff at Georgia as the associate head coach for six seasons (2011-16) under head coach Lizzy Stemke. Lauer helped guided the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013, the first since 2004. Troy associate head coach Brian Muesenfechter was on staff at Georgia with Lauer as a volunteer coach from 2014-16.
 
Muoneke Looking to Build on Strong 2024 Campaign
Of Georgia’s returning players in 2025, junior outside Bianna Muonke is the Bulldogs’ top kills (2.94) and digs (2.02) leader from a season ago. At the service line, she is the second-highest returner with 0.28 aces per set. Muoneke recorded 10 double-doubles last season, her first in Athens.
 
Bulldogs Add Experience from the Transfer Portal
The Bulldogs added veteran transfers Adriana Rhoda and Kate Yoshimoto. Rhoda, who hails from Hutchinson, Minnesota, played the last three seasons at Middle Tennessee State where she’s garnered All-Conference USA honors each of her three seasons playing for the Blue Raiders. She’s already a collegiate 1,000 Kills Club member with 1,061 and has tallied 1,257 points. In three seasons at Colorado State, Yoshimoto tallied 1,123 digs for a 3.24 digs per set rate. In her collegiate career, she was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week once and has been a strong student-athlete, earning Academic All-Mountain West honors twice and has twice been named a Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and CSC Academic All-District.
 
Black Poised for Year Nine in Athens
Head coach Tom Black will take up the helm of the Bulldogs for his ninth season in Athens. Black has guided the Bulldogs to 131 wins, 73 in SEC play, and three NCAA Tournament appearances (2019, 2022, 2023). He is the third-longest tenured head coach in Georgia volleyball history behind Sid Feldman (1978-88) and Jim Iams (1989-99), who each served 11 seasons, and the fourth-longest tenured head coach in the SEC behind Jerritt Elliott, Craig Skinner, and Jason Watson. Assistant coach Aaron Benning and director of operations David Dantes have been on Black’s staff each season.
 
Georgia Great Kacie Rubin Joins Coaching Staff
Former All-American Kacie Rubin (née Evans) joined Tom Black‘s volleyball staff as the program’s new Assistant Coach. In her five-year career in Athens, Rubin garnered 2022 AVCA All-America honors, was a three-time All-SEC performer, earned AVCA All-Region honors, was the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year, and the AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year. She became the fifth member of Georgia’s 2,000-Point Club (2,057) and is the most recent member of Georgia’s Double Grand Club, finishing with 1,768 kills and 1,127 digs. She was a three-time SEC Player of the Week and a five-time SEC Freshman of the Week in 2019.
 
Volleyball Squad Has Strong 2024-25 Academic Year
The Bulldogs put together a great 2024-25 academic year in the classroom. The team was awarded the AVCA Academic Award after registering a 3.563 GPA (3.560 Fall, 3.566 Spring). 11 Bulldogs earned a spot on the 2024 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll while one freshman appeared on the 2024-25 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll. Bianna Muoneke and Ceci Gooch each earned CSC Academic All-District honors as well and MK Patten carried a 4.0 GPA on the year.
 
Black to Be Inducted into UCSD Athletics Hall of Fame
UC San Diego Athletics announced Tom Black as a member of its 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame Class, it was announced in June. Coach Black played for UCSD from 1993-96. He graduated as all-time kills leader, was an MPSF honorable mention, Volleyball Magazine Small College Player of the Year, and was named as a Small College All-American. He served as the UCSD women’s head coach from 2005-09 (115-29 overall). An official induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8, on the UC San Diego campus.
 
2025 Schedule at a Glance
The 2025 season will be the 47th edition of Georgia Volleyball and the ninth under head coach Tom Black. The 2025 schedule features 25 matches: 13 at Stegeman Coliseum, 11 on the road, and one at a neutral site. For the first time in SEC history, volleyball will feature programs from all 16 member institutions. Beginning with the 2025 SEC volleyball season, each institution will play each of the other member institutions once, either home or away, for a 15-match conference schedule. Conference play will begin on Sept. 24.
 
Georgia Picked Ninth in SEC Preseason Poll
The head volleyball coaches of the SEC picked Georgia to finish ninth in the league in 2025. Georgia finished 12-14 in 2024 with a 6-10 record in SEC play. Georgia will return nine student-athletes from last season’s roster and will welcome seven newcomers (2 transfers, 5 freshmen).
 
SEC Volleyball Championship Returns, Will Be Held in Savannah
The Southeastern Conference will relaunch the SEC Volleyball Championship beginning in 2025 and has signed a three-year agreement to host the event at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. The 2025 SEC Volleyball Championship is slated to take place on November 21-25, 2025 at Enmarket Arena. In addition, upcoming tournaments at the venue are scheduled for November 20-24, 2026 and November 19-23, 2027. The SEC Volleyball Championship previously took place from 1979 to 2005.