The Georgia volleyball team has had an up-and-down season.

While the overall record of 12-14 may not have been the Bulldogs’ goal, there were several standout players on this year’s team.

Among them is former SEC All-Freshman Bianna Muoneke, who transferred to Georgia from Texas A&M. In her first season with the Bulldogs, she is third on the team in scoring.

Q: You were named to the SEC All-Freshman Team last year. What was the key to building off that year and managing all the expectations that come with success?

A: I think as a freshman, you’re learning and you’re going through different curves. Being in college and then Division I volleyball, like it’s a big learning curve. So for me, going out there and doing what I did was a big step for me, and then just coming to Georgia and taking all the tools from Tom (Black, the team’s head coach) and my teammates has really helped me. So I definitely think I’ve used my freshman year as a crutch because I’ve gone through all those obstacles and adversity for my freshman year, so I’ve learned from it, and brought it to my sophomore year.

Q: Do you feel like you’ve already taken on a leadership role even though this is your first season with UGA?

A: Yeah, for sure, I think being an outside hitter in itself, like you’re getting pretty much all the sets, all the balls, and you know, your team’s looking at you to put them away. So with that comes a leadership role in itself. And you can’t be a quiet outside hitter. You got to be talkative. You got to make sure that the team has confidence in you, and then it radiates back on to you, so you get the confidence. I think just coming here, having the role that I do have, as an outside, I do like have a leadership role, and I’m really embracing it, and I love it.

Q: Where have you seen the most growth for yourself this year?

A: I think just my game all around. Being a freshman, you can get away with different things because you’re young, and it’s like, oh, she can mess up. But my sophomore year, I really improved my game and kind of refined those edges. And I’m not a freshman anymore, so I don’t have that excuse, like, “Oh, she’s just a freshman.” I can’t make those mental errors that I used to last year.

Q: What have you been able to learn from playing with some seasoned veterans on this team like Sophie Fischer and Erykah Lovett?

A: Yeah, I mean, Sophie’s our middle blocker, so I block next year, and I feel like she makes me a better blocker. Just being next to her, I want to block for her, because I know she’s gonna block for me. And then Erica, she’s my opposite, she’s my other outside. So we’re always opposite of each other. And she just gives me advice. In the game, I give her advice. We kind of bounce off each other. It’s really like a … big sister, little sister moment going on with me and Erica. And she’s taught me a lot about the game. She’s super, super smart. She’s seasoned. This is her third school now, so she’s been, she’s played California ball, she’s played SEC ball now. She gives me so much insight.

Q: What’s the message and feel as you finish out this season? Has it gone according to your expectations?

A: Yeah, it’s just keep pushing. Don’t stop, and we’re gonna keep grinding. Our record hasn’t really reflected how we thought the season would go, but that’s OK. We’re still pushing, and I really don’t think whether that’s on the court or in the locker room, anyone has changed their mentality. Everyone’s still coming in, still working and pushing it, like we were gonna make the postseason.

Q: Was there a moment or game this season where you felt you learned the identity of this team?

A: I think Tennessee. I know it’s kind of late in the season, but it really, I’ve always known this about us, that we’re fighters and that we stick together. But Tennessee, I feel like it really came out. We had a purpose, wanted to win, and we all came together. We fought, we lost sets, we lost points, but it didn’t matter. We kind of threw that out the window and kept going. So, I think our identity was really found in that game. All of our characteristics and features that we’ve been working on just came out, and I was really proud of the team for that.

Q: What do you hope to improve on in your own performance in closing out this year and moving forward?

A: I’m working on little things that are going to translate really big in the game, whether that’s, you know, my tiny steps, step close, so I’m really working on that just to improve my kill number and my swings. And then with the mental, emotional side of it, just improving my leadership skills with that, just staying level-headed and keep strengthening that muscle so that in tight games next year, even the rest of the season, I know how to do it, and I’m seasoned with that.

Q: What’s your favorite memory from this season so far?

A: So there’s this prank on TikTok that’s going around where it’s like a surprise your coach, I’m doing a sleepover. So we all came in pajamas and pillows, acting like we were gonna sleep over at his house, and he was like, “come on in.” And then we ended up making ice cream and just hanging out with him. And it was just really cool, because it was like a family experience.

Q: What stands out to you specifically about this team this year?

A: I think just we have such a strong sense of unity. With us not having a winning record like we thought we would, everybody has stuck together. We’ve just stuck together. We’ve stayed unified. We keep talking, we keep holding hands like, we got this, and I think that is really rare for a team — any team in the country.

Q: The team will be saying goodbye to some key leaders at the end of this season. How do you think the team will respond to this change?

A: I think the returners going back next year are going to take the things that we’ve learned from all the older girls and bring it into next year. We have some really good pieces coming in. And I think really, like, we’re going to fill those holes. We’re going to fill those gaps, because that’s just like, that’s the game, that’s a part of, you know, the cycle. But we’re definitely going to keep all those lessons that we got from the older girls, and you know, take it into next season.

Peter Bartlett is a junior EMST major pursuing the sports media certificate.