Georgia volleyball beat Mississippi State in Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 19, to extend its win streak to five matches. The scores of the sets were 24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 25-27 and 16-14, and Georgia is now 5-3 in conference play after starting 0-3.
“Super hard-fought match, a lot of grit,” head coach Tom Black said. “I thought there were massive ebbs and flows throughout the match, but the ladies pulled it together. I thought Bianna Muoneke’s competitive will was amazing, so I’m super proud of the girls.”
Muoneke had a career-high 29 kills — third most kills in a five-set match in Georgia history. Eight of them came in the fourth set alone, which is just one off of the program’s single-set record.
“[Muoneke] just fought like crazy, and she just wasn’t going to die,” Black said. “She had some major, big-time swings for us. That really set the tone. She just made sure we were going to find a way through, so I’m super proud of her.”
Muoneke also had a season-high 18 digs, earning her eighth double-double of the season.
“It’s really exciting, but I could not have done it without Chloe [Elarton] and Kaiya [Tyson],” Muoneke said. “They put me in a good spot the entire time. Even [Makena Lim] and everyone who was out of system setting put me in great spots. I would not be half the player I am now because of my team. They make me want to play hard every day. Having games like this are always fun, but my teammates make it more.”
Senior Estelle Haugen, Tyson, Lim and Elarton all also earned double-doubles. Tyson’s 16 digs set a career high.
Senior Adriana Rhoda and sophomore MK Patten both had 12 kills, and Haugen had 11. The team combined for 79 kills overall, outnumbering Mississippi State’s 70 and setting a new program high.
Georgia had 13 blocks, six coming from last week’s SEC Defensive Player of the Week, junior Kendal Kemp. Junior Tori Harper added five. The team had three aces, while Mississippi State had four.
The match featured 16 lead changes and 45 ties over the five sets. The third set had eight lead changes and 19 ties alone.
Georgia is now 52-16 against Mississippi State all time. This is Georgia’s fourth consecutive win against Mississippi State.
Georgia looks to continue its hot streak at Vanderbilt on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee.