LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior right-side hitter Mariana Brambilla and junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann have each been named AVCA First Team All-Americans while senior setter Matti McKissock was tabbed an AVCA Honorable Mention, the AVCA announced on Wednesday.
Brambilla and Bergmann are the first Yellow Jackets to be named First Team All-Americans since Kele Eveland in 2003, previously the only player in ACC history to garner the recognition. The duo also becomes Georgia Tech’s first pair to earn First Team All-American honors in the same season. Factoring in McKissock’s Honorable Mention, the slew of awards marks the second-most all-American honors in a season in program history for the White and Gold, trailing just the 2003 squad with four total honors – Eveland, Lynette Moster (Third Team), Alexandra Preiss (Honorable Mention) and Lauren Sauer (Honorable Mention).
Brambilla’s first career First Team All-American honor marks her second consecutive all-American recognition as she was tabbed a Third Team All-American a season ago. The award comes following last week’s honors as Brambilla received her third straight All-Region honor from the AVCA. The Brazilian bomber was also recently tabbed First Team All-ACC for the third consecutive year, now owning four yearly ACC awards, including an ACC All-Freshman Team recognition. This season, Brambilla has earned a pair of ACC Player of the Week honors as she concluded the season third in the ACC in kills per set (4.34), kills (486), points per set (4.77) and points (534.5) on the year. The explosive right-side hitter has also set career milestones this season, skyrocketing into the top 10 in program history in career kills, ranking eighth with 1,586. In her final match of her senior season, Brambilla went out with a career-high 27 kills to go with 16 digs against No. 1 seed Louisville.
Bergmann adds yet another accolade to her decorated career, being selected First Team All-American for the first time in her career. A season ago, the heavy hitter earned her first all-American recognition as an Honorable Mention. Prior to garnering all-American status once again this season, Bergmann became the first Yellow Jacket in program history on record to be named Regional Player of the Year while earning her third All-Region honor in as many years. The lauded Jacket was also named AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year in her first year on The Flats. More recently, Bergmann became the fourth in program history to win ACC Player of the Year while also receiving her third consecutive First Team All-ACC recognition. The powerful outside hitter owns five yearly ACC awards, including her ACC Freshman of the Year award and ACC All-Freshman Team honor. Throughout this season, Bergmann has racked up a multitude of weekly awards as well, including AVCA Player of the Week and four ACC Player of the Week honors, the most by any student-athlete in the conference since 2015. The Munich, Germany, native’s numbers back up her accolades as she finished the season 12th in the NCAA in points (577.5) and 13th in the country in kills (497), leading the league in both categories. Other notable numbers for the powerful outside hitter include ranking second in the ACC and 16th in the country in points per set (5.16) while placing second in the conference and 21st in the nation in kills per set (4.44). She also eclipsed 1,000 career kills this season, owning 1,193 to date, and moved into a tie for ninth in program history in career aces with 130. In individual matches, Bergmann racked up her second career 30+ kill match against Notre Dame this season, tallying 30 against the Fighting Irish for the second highest tally in the ACC on the year.
McKissock picks up the first all-American honor of her storied career as she was named an Honorable Mention. The recognition shortly follows her second career All-Region honor courtesy of the AVCA following the same recognition in 2019. Tech’s mainstay at floor general also boasts a regional Honorable Mention in 2020 despite missing significant time due to injury. The Windermere, Fla., native owns four All-ACC honors after being tabbed First Team All-ACC this season and in 2019, ACC Setter of the Year in 2019 and Second Team All-ACC a season ago. McKissock has rewritten the Georgia Tech record books this season, becoming the program’s leader in career assists during the 25-point rally scoring era. The orchestrator of the Jacket attack has also catapulted into third in career assists in program history, recently surpassing 4,000 career assists to wrap up her senior season with 4,103. Across the nation the season, McKissock finished second in the NCAA in assists per set (11.81) and fifth in the land in assists (1,311), leading the league in both categories.
Georgia Tech’s historic season concluded at 26-6 overall and 14-4 in ACC play after advancing to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history. The Jackets made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the first time since advancing to the Big Dance five consecutive seasons from 2000-04.
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