Rehr Adds Trio to Volleyball Support Staff

HOUSTON – University of Houston Head Coach David Rehr added a trio of new support staff entering the 2025 season, the team announced Tuesday. Cougar great Kate Georgiades and two-time All-American at Arizona State Claire Jeter join Rehr's staff as graduate assistants while Simone Sardanelli will serve as technical coordinator.

Both Georgiades and Jeter bring Big 12 playing experience to the coaching staff after Georgiades completed a storied career with Houston in 2024, and Jeter shined as a middle blocker for Arizona State from 2021-2024. Sardanelli arrives in Houston following time in Italy's professional volleyball system.

ABOUT KATE GEORGIADES | GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Georgiades, Houston's first four-time All-American and All-Conference First Team selection, quickly rejoins the team following her final collegiate season in 2024. One of the best players to come through the storied Houston program, Georgiades completed her playing career with 2,562 digs, the 22^nd most in NCAA history.

Georgiades was also a three-time Conference Libero of the Year honoree, collecting the accolade from The American in 2021 and 2022 as well as the Big 12 Conference in 2023, Houston Athletics' first positional player of the year in the league. She finished her Cougar career with the third-most digs (2,335) in program history with the second-most digs per set (5.07).

Georgiades spent the spring and summer as Houston's latest professional Cougar, playing with the Pro Volleyball Federation's Columbus Fury after being the second from the program drafted by the league. In 54 sets, she recorded 171 digs with her average of 3.17 per set ranking second on the team.

ABOUT CLAIRE JETER | GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Jeter arrives in Houston following a standout career for Arizona State after a year at Texas A&M. An AVCA All-American in both 2023 and 2024, Jeter finished her collegiate eligibility with 462 blocks as well as 933 kills, a .355 hitting percentage and 109 aces.

Jeter finished third on Arizona State's career blocks list with 451, the most by a Sun Devil since 1990. She also broke the team's career block assists record with 379. In her senior season, she hit .426, leading the Big 12 and ranking 10^th nationally.

Overall, she earned All-Big 12 First-Team honors in her lone season in the league with All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention accolades in 2023. She was also a VolleyballMag.com All-American in 2024 and an AVCA All-Region honoree in both 2023 and 2024.

ABOUT SIMONE SARDANELLI | TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Sardanelli joins the Cougar staff following both international playing and coaching careers in Italy. Following 10 seasons playing professional volleyball at various levels, including stints in Italy's top division, Sardanelli shifted to technical staff, assisting at multiple levels including in SuperLega.

Sardanelli began play with Vibo Valentia in SuperLiga, Italy's top division, in 2013. He continued with the team as they transitioned to Serie A2, winning the Serie A2 Italian Cup in both 2015 and 2016. Following a loan to Lagonegro in 2017-19, he rejoined Vibo Valentia in SuperLiga and aided the team as it finished fifth in 2020-21 and qualified for the playoffs in the best season in the team's history. After playing with Galatina in Serie A3 in 2021-22, he retired as a player and shifted to technical staff.

Sardanelli began coaching with Taranto in SuperLega for the 2022-23 season, providing technical and tactical support during the season while conducting the team's scouting and analytic efforts. For the next season, he joined Vero Volley as an Assistant Sporting Director, helping to push the club to one of its most historic seasons as the team reached the finals in six out of seven competitions across the men's and women's teams.

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– UHCougars.com –

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