Volleyball Signs Five for 2025 Season

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Georgia head volleyball coach Tom Black has announced the signing of five student-athletes to the 2025 roster. The class includes outside hitters Olivia Borgman and Alex Richter, middle blocker Emma Bryson, setter Chloe Elarton, and libero/defensive specialist Keira Steininger.

"We're thrilled about this 2025 class," Black remarked. "As players and people, we are confident they're going to do great things for Georgia volleyball. We can't wait to get in the gym and get to work."

Olivia Borgman | OH | 6-1 | Myrtle Beach, S.C. | North Myrtle Beach HS
Outside hitter Olivia Borgman signs to Georgia from North Myrtle Beach High School in Little River, South Carolina. She's been named the Region 6 AAAA Player of the Year three times, a three-time all-state performer, three-time first team all-region honoree, and a two-time North Myrtle Beach Volleyball MVP.

In the classroom, she has been named an NHSCA Academic All-American, is a Junior Marshal, has earned an Academic Honor in AP US History, AP English Language and Composition, Calculus, Spanish, and Biomedical Science, and was a 2024 AP Scholar.

She played club for Grand Strand Juniors/Coast United (2016-23) and Jacksonville Skyline (2024). She earned AAU All-American honors two times.

Olivia is the daughter of Amber and Jeff Borgman. She has a younger brother, Ty.

Black on Borgman: "Olivia is one of the rare great overall players in an increasingly specialized game. She plays every time she can get her hands on a ball, and it shows. She excels at every skill and if there's one word to summarize her, it's genuine. She's an elite player and person and we're very confident in her future and what she'll bring to our program."

Emma Bryson | MB | 6-3 | Fletcher, N.C. | West Henderson HS
Middle blocker Emma Bryson comes to Athens by way of West Henderson High School in Henderson, North Carolina where she was a four-time all-conference performer. Her prep campaign began with being named the Mountain 7 Conference Tournament MVP, Mountain 7 and WNC Player of the Year, and a back-to-back AAU All- American. She picked up NCVBCA All-Region, NCVBCA first team all-state, and WNC Sports Awards Banquet Division Female Athlete of a Major Sport Nominee after her junior campaign. Last season, she was NCVBCA All-Region, Max Preps #21 in the nation for hitting percentage (.489), Class of 2025 JVA Watchlist, NCHSAA State game MVP, and all-state performer. West Henderson won conference championships in 2021 and 2024. She earned invitations to the 2023 and 2024 Under Armour All-American games, earning MVP honors in 2024.

Off the court, she's a member of National Honor Society Member, is an FCA student leader, FBLA member, and a CTE Scholar and a seven-time A honor roll member.

She played four years with Stars 18 Helle/KK, bringing home three AAU and Under Armour All-American honors.

Emma is the daughter of April and Joey Bryson. Her mom played volleyball at App State and her dad played basketball at Western Caroline. She has two older brothers, Ben and Jake. Ben played basketball at the University of Virginia's College at Wise and Jake threw shot put and discus at Gardner-Webb. She intends to major in Speech Therapy and Communication Disorders.

Black on Bryson: "Emma was the first one to commit in this class, and it was a truly exciting day for all of us. She's an exceptional athlete and has the ability to be a complete middle. One who can hit in front and behind, and take up a lot of space as a blocker. Emma has a joy for the game that's infectious; she's done everything her coaches have asked of her throughout her high school career, whether it's helped her stat sheet or not, it's always been about the team for her. She's going to do great things here at UGA."

Chloe Elarton | Setter | 5-11 | Castle Pines, Colo. | Valor Christian HS
Setter Chloe Elarton signs to Georgia from Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She will graduate in December and early enroll at UGA in January. She's a back-to-back all-state and 5A Jeffco League All-Conference first team performer. As a sophomore, she was the MaxPreps Colorado High School Volleyball Player of the Year and Maxpreps Underclass All-America Team following a state championship. She guided the Eagles to another state championship as a junior in 2023 and was a MaxPreps Junior All-American.

Off the court, she's a member of the National Honor Society and a 5A CHSAA Academic All-State honoree.

She's played six seasons with Colorado Juniors, winning a 16 National USAV National Championship and picking up GJNC 15 National All-Tournament Team honors. She's been a team captain for three years.

Chloe is the daughter of Laurie and Scott Elarton. Scott played professional baseball for 19 years including 10 in the MLB, pitching for the Rockies, Royals, Astros, and Indians. He currently works for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. She has an older brother, Kenan, who plays baseball at Arizona. She intends to major in Engineering.

Black on Elarton: "Chloe has clearly established herself as one of the nation's best setters in her age group. Consistent is a great word to describe her. Her work ethic, her attitude, her desire to grow, those things don't change with her. Day in and day out, she competes and gets better, and the results are evident. She's going to do a great job here."

Alex Richter | OH | 6-2 | Dallas, Texas | Highland Park HS
Outside hitter Alex Richter comes to Athens from Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. In her prep career, she's been all-state, Dallas Morning News All-Area, Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State, Texas Girls Coaches Association All-Star, and the District Hitter of the Year. She's earned invitations to the Texas Girls Coaches Association All-Star Game and the USA Volleyball All-Star Championships.

In the classroom, she's been an academic all-district performer all four years.

She's played club for Texas Advantage Volleyball, Drive Nation, and Skyline.

Alex is the daughter of Deidre and Patrick Richter. She has an older brother, Jake. She intends to major in Real Estate.

Black on Richter: "Alex is a player that can bring it on both pins and is having another exceptional high school season. She's a resilient kid who's gotten better every year and has consistently played at the highest levels of junior competition. Alex has a tremendously high ceiling as a volleyball player. We cannot wait to get her here and see how good she can become."

Keira Steininger | L/DS | 5-5 | St. Mary's, Ohio | New Bremen HS
Libero/defensive specialist Keira Steininger signs to UGA from New Bremen High School in New Bremen, Ohio. She will graduate in December and early enroll at UGA in January. She was a four-year varsity starter for the Cardinals. She was back-to-back all-conference, all-district, all-state, and the captain of her team both as a junior and senior. In her prep career, Steininger put up 976 digs, 330 assists, and 230 aces. Her team went 100-10 in four years and won Division IV state championships in 2022 and 2023 and conference championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She was invited to the OHSAA District 8 senior all-star game this past season.

Off the court, she is a member of the National Honor Society, Business Club, Junior District Leadership Team, Science Club, Spanish Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was a 2022 HOBY Ohio West Ambassador, a high honor roll student all quarters, and a three-time academic all-conference honoree.

Steininger played four years for Mintonette Sports. She was a two-time USAV Nationals All-Tournament Team member, 2022 USAV National Champion, 2024 USAV Bronze Medalist, 2022 Ohio Valley Region All-Star Team, three-time Under Armour Next Camp attendee, Under Armour Next Player of the Week, three-time AVCA Phenom, three-time JVA watch list, JVA Class of 2025 watch list, and Prepvolleyball.com Class of 2025 watch list.

Keira is the daughter of Amy and Jeff Steininger. Her mom is a member of the Ohio High School Volleyball Hall of Fame and was the AVCA High School National Coach of the Year in 2010. She has three older siblings, Cory, Kyle, and Cailee, and a younger brother, Calvin. She intends to major in mechanical engineering.

Black on Steininger: "Keira comes from a family of coaches, and it shows. Her teams rely on her intelligence and steadiness, and she's phenomenal about making the team better with every contact she makes. She reads the game very well and will compete at the libero spot right away. We can't wait to get her in the gym this spring."

University of Georgia Athletics

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