LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 8 seed Georgia Tech volleyball (25-5, 14-4 ACC) received a program-record tying five AVCA East Coast Region honors, headlined by coach Michelle Collier winning AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the year and junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann being selected as AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year, the AVCA announced on Tuesday. Along with Collier and Bergmann being voted the region’s best, Bergmann, senior outside hitter Mariana Brambilla and senior setter Matti McKissock were all named AVCA East Coast All-Region for the most honors by the White and Gold since 2019.
Collier earns the honor as top coach of the region for the second time in her career. Being recognized two years prior in 2019, she now owns the most awards by a leader of the Yellow Jackets through the AVCA in program history. Coach Michelle Collier remains the third skipper for the White and Gold to garner a regional coach of the year recognition and joins former coach Shelton Collier in being the only two Georgia Tech head coaches to win two regional coach of the year honors. On the heels of Tech’s first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2009 and advancement to the second round a season ago, coach Michelle Collier has once again led the Jackets to national prominence. Throughout the regular season, the White and Gold claimed a pair of historic wins over then No. 12 Penn State and No. 2 Pitt, the latter being highest ranked win in program history. To date, the Recife, Brazil, native has guided the Jackets to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004 as the No. 8 seed. Tech won both contests, including snapping No. 17 WKU’s 21-match win streak for another ranked win to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004 and third time in program history. Although Collier made a concerted effort to face one of the toughest schedules in the country as evidenced by Tech’s rankings of seventh in RPI and 13th by the AVCA, the Jackets currently own the third highest winning percentage in program history behind only 2002’s second round squad and 2003’s Elite Eight team. Collier’s successes stem from well before this season as Tech has won 54 of its last 65 matches, including 32 of its last 37 matches on The Flats dating back to 2019.
Bergmann continues to expand her trophy case, becoming the first Yellow Jacket in program history on record to be named a regional player of the year while earning her third all-region honor in as many years. The decorated Jacket was also named AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year in her first year on The Flats, and more recently, 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. 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’s currently 12th in the country in points per set (5.32) and 13th in the nation in kills per set (4.60), leading the league in both categories. Other notable numbers for the powerful outside hitter include ranking second in the ACC and 16th in the NCAA in points (559) while placing second in the conference and 19th in the country in kills (483). She also eclipsed 1,000 career kills this season, owning 1,179 to date, and moved into a tie for ninth in program history in career aces with 128. In individual matches, Bergmann racked up her second career 30-kill match against Notre Dame this season, the second highest tally in the ACC on the year.
Brambilla receives her third consecutive all-region honor from the AVCA, adding another accolade to a lauded career in her own right. The Brazilian bomber was also recently tabbed First Team All-ACC for the third straight 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’s currently third in the ACC in kills per set (4.20), kills (441), points per set (4.65) and points (488) 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, currently ranking eighth with 1,541 to date.
McKissock garners her second career all-region honor courtesy of the AVCA following the same recognition in 2019, also owning an 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 with 4,019 to date. Across the nation the season, McKissock is currently third in the NCAA in assists per set (11.80) and 14th in the land in assists (1,227), leading the league in both categories.
Up Next
Georgia Tech will head to the Louisville Regional of the NCAA Tournament, facing off against No. 9 seed Ohio State (27-5, 15-5 B1G) on Thursday at 3 p.m. in Louisville, Ky. The Sweet 16 match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The victor of the contest will go on to face the winner of host and No. 1 seed Louisville and No. 16 seed Florida on Saturday at 6 p.m. Broadcast coverage will be provided on ESPNU for the Elite Eight matchup.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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