September 24, 2020

Jackets Battle Back but Drop Opener to Canes

Final Stats (.pdf) | Postgame Notes | Multimedia

Coral Gables, Fla. –Georgia Tech overcame an early 0-2 deficit to force a fifth set, but came up just short in the season-opener, falling 3-2 (17-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-18, 14-16) to the Miami Hurricanes to open the 2020 season. Mikaila Dowd led the Jackets with 22 kills, and Mariana Brambilla added a double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs.

Photos:

Anthony McClellan

How it Happened:

Miami got off to a fast start, jumping out to an 8-3 lead early. The Hurricanes continued to keep the Jackets off balance, leading 13-6 heading into the first time out. But the Yellow Jackets battled back behind two straight kills from Mikaila Dowd, cutting the Miami lead to three, forcing a timeout after a 6-1 run. It was a back-and-forth the rest of the way through, but Miami managed to hold onto the lead, winning the first set 25-17.

The Hurricanes kept that momentum going into the second set, leading 4-1 early on and led 8-3 at the first timeout. The Canes hung onto that five-point lead through the midway point of the second set until a double touch by Miami gave the ball back to the Jackets down 12-8. But Tech had no answer for the Canes’ attack behind Elizavet Lukianova, falling behind 20-12 late in the second set. The Jackets would eat into that deficit with a couple of Mariana Brambilla kills that made it 23-18. But Miami pulled away to take the second set 25-20.

The Yellow Jackets got off to a better start in the third set, taking a 5-4 lead on an Erin Moss kill. Julia Bergmann and Dowd helped Tech maintain that slim lead as the teams progressed through the set. Brambilla’s 10^th kill of the night gave the Jackets an 11-8 lead, but the Hurricanes would come back to tie things up at eleven. Tech would take its biggest lead of the match, 18-13, on a Bergmann kill. Miami stayed in the game, cutting the tech lead to 21-19, but Dowd scored the last three points of the set to give Tech a 25-19 set win.

Tech rode that wave into the fourth set, jumping out to a 5-3 lead. The Canes took the next three points to take a brief lead before Moss tied things up again at six. The teams stayed tied until a couple of Miami attack errors helped Tech to an 11-8 lead. The Jackets were in control midway through the set, as Dowd’s 17^th kill gave the Jackets an 18-12 lead. Back-to-back kills from Kayla Kaiser and Brambilla helped Tech hold a 23-16 advantage, before finishing off the Canes in the fourth set, 25-18.

The fifth set was neck-and-neck with the Jackets taking an 8-7 lead at the break on a Bergmann kill. But Miami would re-take the lead, 9-8, leading to a Georgia Tech timeout. Tech came out of the timeout with three-straight points to build an 11-9 lead as they took advantage of a couple of Miami errors. But the Hurricanes would not let up, pulling away with a 16-14 set win to take the match.

Notes

Dowd led the way for the Yellow Jackets with 22 kills, hitting a .391 clip
Brambilla turned in a double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs
With 53 assists, McKissock moved into the top-10 for her career in Georgia Tech program history.

Multimedia

Another MONSTER kill from Moss!! The sophomore stepping up early!!
📺 https://t.co/1IGyqXReyJ pic.twitter.com/cXqJaxutr6
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) September 24, 2020

🎇🎇🎇
📺 https://t.co/1IGyqXReyJ pic.twitter.com/Ui7Y8pNZf1
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) September 24, 2020

Second straight kill from Mikaila Dowd as the Jackets battle back! pic.twitter.com/oRSFPj1131
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) September 24, 2020

S3 | Another Bergamann kill gives the Jackets their largest lead of the night!
GT – 18, MIA – 13 pic.twitter.com/TSWkoAN56M
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) September 24, 2020