Georgia volleyball adds 6 new players

After a historic 2022 season, the Georgia volleyball team is retooling as it aims to make an even deeper run in the NCAA tournament.

The Bulldogs, who finished with an overall record of 23-8 in 2022, are bringing in six new additions to their roster.

After winning its first tournament round in 27 years and subsequently losing to the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns, the volleyball team, head coach Tom Black and these new roster additions look towards further success this season.

Incoming Freshmen

Ally Cavanaugh

Ally Cavanaugh is an opposite hitter from Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Florida. In her high school career, she won three Offensive MVP awards along with her 4A Player of the Year designation for her sophomore showcase with the school. Cavanaugh set the school’s record for kills with 1,240 and helped lead her squad to a state championship in 2020.

"Ally is a high and efficient attacker from both pins,” Black said. “She takes up a ton of space as a blocker. More importantly, she works and works and works to get out all her potential. Ally will be a highly productive player for our program, and we can't wait to get her in the gym."

The 6-foot-3 Cavanaugh played with the club team OTVA 18J for five years. In that time, she helped bring the program to a No. 2 ranking nationally and won several tournament medals in that time.

Makena Lim

Makena Lim is a Libero from Ladera Ranch, California. In high school, she cracked both the Prepdig PVL Standout Liberos and JVA West Coast Top Liberos lists. Lim also earned a designation as an Under Armour nationally ranked player and a member of the UA All-American team in both 2021 and 2022.

"Makena has been very well trained by her coaches and has a lethal serve,” Black said “Her ball control and setting are going to be huge additions to our program. She treats her academics just as seriously as her athletics and we can't wait to get her on campus."

The 5-foot-4 Lim played for A4 Volleyball for eight straight years as the starting libero. Over that thime, Lim helped guide the club team to Gold in the JVA West Coast Cup Club Division 12U and Silver in the SCVA Las Vegas Classic in both 14U and 17U. Lim also helped the 16U and 17U squads have top 10 finishes in Southern California

Ceci Gooch

Dallas native Ceci Gooch is a 6-foot-3 middle blocker and provides good size for the Bulldogs’ rotation. Gooch played for Highland Park High School and played all four years on varsity. She also spent seven season playing for various club teams, including winning championships with Skyline 14 Black and TAV 16 Black.

"Ceci is an incredible fit for our team on and off the court," Black said. "She is a physical player with a great skill set who has been very well coached. Ceci's future at UGA is extremely bright and we cannot wait to get started with her."

The back-to-back District Blocker of the Year brings along top-tier ability on both offense and defense, boasting an AVCA High School First Team All-America selection and TGCA 6A All-State honors.

Kaiya Tyson

Burlington, Ontario native Kaiya Tyson rounds out the freshmen class. The 5-foot-10 setter brings heaps of experience competing against the game’s best as a member of Team Canada for the U18 Volleyball World Championship and U19 Pan American Cup. She also competed on the beach for Canada. Tyson earned Gold at the 14U Beach Volleyball Nationals and silver at the 18U Beach Volleyballl Nationals.

Tyson also played for Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School, where she was voted Most Promising Female Athlete. Tyson also plays club for Defensa Volleyball.

"Kaiya is an elite setter and volleyball player who will have a ton of international experience with the Canadian junior national teams under her belt before she arrives,” Black said. “She is an awesome competitor and even better person. Kaiya is determined to do big things at UGA, and we're excited to help her get there."

Incoming transfers

Krista Blakely

Former Eastern Michigan right side hitter Krista Blakely is the first of two new faces joining the Bulldogs via the transfer portal.

"We are beyond thrilled to have Krista join our program," Black said. "She's a young woman of high aspirations on and off the court and she'll bring an exciting physicality to the right side. We can't wait to get started with her."

The 6-foot Blakely spent three seasons at Eastern Michigan and appeared in 71 matches, recorded 520 total kills and averaged over two kills per set. The Detroit native has also been productive defensively in her time for the Eagles, recording 173 total blocks and averaged a little under a block per set. Blakely is an explosive hitter with plenty of potential to shore up the Bulldogs’ right side.

Erica Staunton

Erica Staunton is an outside hitter and graduate transfer from Northeastern University. Originally from Orland Park, Illinois, the three-time All-Colonial Athletic Conference awardee was responsible for an impressive 1,041 kills at Northeastern in 309 sets in 86 matches. In four seasons, she has recorded a career average 3.37 kills per set paired with a .208 hitting percentage. Defensively, she averaged 1.13 digs per set and put up a total of 124 blocks.

In her senior season the 6-foot-1 Staunton averaged a team best 4.01 kills per set and set a program record. She recorded seven 20-kill matches with a season high 26 kills, finishing third in the CAA in kills per set. She also received All-CAA First Team honors and second team honors from the Easter College Athletic Conference.

"Erica brings a wealth of competitive experience to our program," Black said. "She is a high flying outside with an incredible work ethic and passion for the game. She is going to be a huge success in life, and we're beyond excited to get her for her final year of NCAA volleyball. She brings so much to our program on and off the court."