University of Georgia Athletics
Aces Help Bulldogs Serve Up A Win
November 03, 2025 | Volleyball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
After dropping the first set against Auburn on Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum, the Georgia volleyball team changed the course of the match in the simplest way possible. The Bulldogs upped their serving, hitting eight aces in the second set, and were in control the rest of the way.
"Aces are arguably the most valuable points because the rally is over," Georgia head coach Tom Black said after the Bulldogs' four-set victory. "It's like there's nothing else you have to do. You can't expect to get that many aces normally, but when you get them, they're worth their weight in gold."
Auburn took the first set 25-19, out-acing the Bulldogs 3-1. In the second set, Georgia's Estelle Haugen hit back-to-back aces to put the Bulldogs up 8-6. Later in the set, over the span of eight points, Georgia hit four more aces, three of them coming from Bianna Muoneke. Tori Harper won five straight points on her serve to close out the set, 25-13, including a pair of aces.
"We say that when you're serving, you look like you're back there by yourself, but honestly, you're with your team. You set the team up for what you're going to deliver, and getting an ace is the cherry on top," Harper said of her approach to serving. "I'm just trying to find the weak points (in the defense) and serve the line that I think will be the best."
Georgia finished with a season-high 11 aces, getting three each from Harper and Muoneke, two each from Haugen and Chloe Elarton, and one from Ana Julia Bleeker. The Bulldogs have 115 in 82 sets played this season, well below last season's 191 in 110 sets, and Black said the team is working hard to make the serve more of a weapon like it has been in past seasons.
"We're traditionally a really strong serving team, and it just hasn't been there this year," he said. "We've been just kind of tweaking and tweaking and tweaking, and I think today was kind of a culmination of the past three weeks. It doesn't change as fast as you want it sometimes, but I think it kind of unlocked.
"I'm hoping we can carry this on, because we're a good blocking team, and if we can serve like this, it really lets us get the points going inside of their game more."
Harper and Haugen are tied for the team lead with 23 aces this season, with Muoneke close behind with 21. Most of Georgia's aces against Auburn came on serves hit with no spin, like a pitcher's knuckleball, so the ball wobbles as it moves through the air in an unpredictable manner that often leaves the returner flat-footed and unable to put the ball in play.
"If you hit it with no spin, you can't control what happens next, but it's going to do something positive, usually," said Black, whose team wraps up its home schedule Friday night against Ole Miss.
There are multiple types of serves, including the simple-looking flat, no-spin serve Georgia used so well against Auburn and the leaping serve that's more of a power play, with several variations on speed, spin and placement. And they all take a lot of work.
"It takes time, for sure," Haugen said. "We spend a lot of time working on it. Even the day of the game, we come in and have a short practice to just get our contact right."
Longtime assistant Aaron Benning is the team's serving coach, regularly spending time with the players working on perfecting all aspects of the serve before and after practice.
"We always want to work on serving," Harper said.
And for good reason. Serving an ace is the easiest way to win a point, while expending very little energy. It can also be demoralizing to the other team because it often feels like an unforced error when you can't put the ball in play.
"It's a huge momentum changer," Haugen said, "and it's something our team, we pride ourselves on how well we do from the service line. It was good to see our normal selves come back (against Auburn) because that's what we're used to doing."
Haugen admits to not being a great server when the senior outside hitter first got to Georgia. But with a lot of work to develop her skills, she's come a very long way.
"When I came in, I was literally stand serving, so I didn't even jump. And my coaches told me, 'You have to develop your serve.' That's something I've really spent a lot of time on, and I knew that was a weakness that I had to turn into a strength," Haugen said. "That's changed a lot this year thanks to a lot of work with Aaron."
Black compared serving to shooting free throws in basketball. Because there's nobody else involved but the person with the ball, it's "completely different than the rest of the game," he said.
"It's completely controlled; it's called a closed-loop skill," Black said. "Like someone at the free-throw line, everything else has stopped, so there's no excuse for not being a good server. It's just you and the ball."
And when you do it right and do it well, it's just you, the ball, and some easy points for the Bulldogs.Â
Staff Writer
After dropping the first set against Auburn on Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum, the Georgia volleyball team changed the course of the match in the simplest way possible. The Bulldogs upped their serving, hitting eight aces in the second set, and were in control the rest of the way.
"Aces are arguably the most valuable points because the rally is over," Georgia head coach Tom Black said after the Bulldogs' four-set victory. "It's like there's nothing else you have to do. You can't expect to get that many aces normally, but when you get them, they're worth their weight in gold."
Auburn took the first set 25-19, out-acing the Bulldogs 3-1. In the second set, Georgia's Estelle Haugen hit back-to-back aces to put the Bulldogs up 8-6. Later in the set, over the span of eight points, Georgia hit four more aces, three of them coming from Bianna Muoneke. Tori Harper won five straight points on her serve to close out the set, 25-13, including a pair of aces.
"We say that when you're serving, you look like you're back there by yourself, but honestly, you're with your team. You set the team up for what you're going to deliver, and getting an ace is the cherry on top," Harper said of her approach to serving. "I'm just trying to find the weak points (in the defense) and serve the line that I think will be the best."
Georgia finished with a season-high 11 aces, getting three each from Harper and Muoneke, two each from Haugen and Chloe Elarton, and one from Ana Julia Bleeker. The Bulldogs have 115 in 82 sets played this season, well below last season's 191 in 110 sets, and Black said the team is working hard to make the serve more of a weapon like it has been in past seasons.
"We're traditionally a really strong serving team, and it just hasn't been there this year," he said. "We've been just kind of tweaking and tweaking and tweaking, and I think today was kind of a culmination of the past three weeks. It doesn't change as fast as you want it sometimes, but I think it kind of unlocked.
"I'm hoping we can carry this on, because we're a good blocking team, and if we can serve like this, it really lets us get the points going inside of their game more."
Harper and Haugen are tied for the team lead with 23 aces this season, with Muoneke close behind with 21. Most of Georgia's aces against Auburn came on serves hit with no spin, like a pitcher's knuckleball, so the ball wobbles as it moves through the air in an unpredictable manner that often leaves the returner flat-footed and unable to put the ball in play.
"If you hit it with no spin, you can't control what happens next, but it's going to do something positive, usually," said Black, whose team wraps up its home schedule Friday night against Ole Miss.
There are multiple types of serves, including the simple-looking flat, no-spin serve Georgia used so well against Auburn and the leaping serve that's more of a power play, with several variations on speed, spin and placement. And they all take a lot of work.
"It takes time, for sure," Haugen said. "We spend a lot of time working on it. Even the day of the game, we come in and have a short practice to just get our contact right."
Longtime assistant Aaron Benning is the team's serving coach, regularly spending time with the players working on perfecting all aspects of the serve before and after practice.
"We always want to work on serving," Harper said.
And for good reason. Serving an ace is the easiest way to win a point, while expending very little energy. It can also be demoralizing to the other team because it often feels like an unforced error when you can't put the ball in play.
"It's a huge momentum changer," Haugen said, "and it's something our team, we pride ourselves on how well we do from the service line. It was good to see our normal selves come back (against Auburn) because that's what we're used to doing."
Haugen admits to not being a great server when the senior outside hitter first got to Georgia. But with a lot of work to develop her skills, she's come a very long way.
"When I came in, I was literally stand serving, so I didn't even jump. And my coaches told me, 'You have to develop your serve.' That's something I've really spent a lot of time on, and I knew that was a weakness that I had to turn into a strength," Haugen said. "That's changed a lot this year thanks to a lot of work with Aaron."
Black compared serving to shooting free throws in basketball. Because there's nobody else involved but the person with the ball, it's "completely different than the rest of the game," he said.
"It's completely controlled; it's called a closed-loop skill," Black said. "Like someone at the free-throw line, everything else has stopped, so there's no excuse for not being a good server. It's just you and the ball."
And when you do it right and do it well, it's just you, the ball, and some easy points for the Bulldogs.Â
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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