Jackets Cap Virginia Trip With Sweep of Hokies

BLACKSBURG, VA. – Georgia Tech volleyball (12-9, 7-5 ACC) capped its road trip in Virginia with a sweep of Virginia Tech (10-13, 2-10 ACC) on Sunday afternoon.

QUICK HITS

• The Jackets’ offense was led by both senior DeAndra Pierce and freshman Anna Fiedorowicz with nine kills respectively.
• Fiedorowicz nine kills were accompanied by one assist, one solo block, one block assist, three service aces and eight digs.
• Her three service aces are the fourth most for a Yellow Jacket in a single match this season while her one solo block tied her career high for the third time.
• Bianca Garibaldi and Mimi Mambu assisted Pierce and Fiedorowicz on offense with eight kills apiece.
• For Garibaldi, those eight kills were her most kills since the 10 she recorded against North Carolina and tied for her third most this season.
• The sophomore also saw her second-best attack percentage of the season (.615), just behind her .750 attack percentage against Ole Miss in the season opener.
• Mambu finished the day with one solo block and one block assist as well which is the fourth time in her career she has recorded a solo block.
• The Virginia native’s eight kills against Virginia Tech mark the fifth consecutive match that she has recorded no less than eight kills.
• Sofia Velez recorded her 17th game of the season, her seventh consecutive match, with double digit digs. Her 10 digs bring her to 122 games recording 10+ digs out of 131 total collegiate games.
• Heloise Soares was responsible for 34 of Tech’s 39 assists on Sunday, which was her fourth most assists in a three-set match this season.
• Soares also recorded 10 digs alongside Velez, which was the seventh time she has recorded 10+ digs in a match this season.
• Freshman Laura Bieleski tied her career high attack percentage on Sunday as well as she finished the day with a .333 attack percentage.
• Georgia Tech recorded its second most aces in a single match this season (8) for the third time with the other two being against No. 17 Purdue and No. 5 Pitt.
• The Jackets extend their lead in the overall series against the Hookies, 22-10, and are now 12-6 while playing Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 25 – VT 16)

• Virginia Tech got the jump on Georgia Tech in set one but the Jackets were quickly able to work their way back to a set one win as well as hold the Hokies’ offense to a .000 attack percentage. The Hokies held the set one lead through to 13-11, despite the Yellow Jackets tying the set 11-11. An exceptional eight-point scoring run from Georgia Tech took the lead 19-13 before a service error gave another point to Virginia Tech. The Jackets went on to outscore the Hokies, 6-2, for the set one win. Pierce and Fiedorowicz notched three kills respectively, with Fiedorowicz holding a .500 attack percentage. Soares saw a .455 assist percentage as she earned 10 assists on 22 attempts. Bieleski and Fiedorowicz led in digs with four apiece. Fiedorowicz was also present defensively at the net as she along with Pierce, Garibaldi, and Soares all saw a piece of a block.

Set 2 (GT 25 – VT 20)

• Set two began tight with the hosting Tech once again taking a small lead early (9-6). A three-point run for Georgia Tech tied the set at 17 apiece before the Hookies called a timeout. That timeout would prove to be of no avail as the Yellow Jackets went on to outscore the Hokies 8-3 for the set two win. Georgia Tech saw its most kills of the match during set two (17) as well as its highest attack percentage of the match (.324) while holding Virginia Tech to below a .200 attack percentage (.121) and only 10 kills. Garibaldi could not be contained on offense as she led both teams with six kills and a .857 attack percentage. Pierce (4), Mambu (3), and Fiedorowicz (3) saw a multi-kill set as well. Soares tallied another 14 assists as well as four digs.

Set 3 (GT  25 – VT 18)

• Set three saw the visiting Tech take an early lead with kills from Despiagne, an ace from Garibaldi, and an error from Virginia Tech (4-1). The Hokies were able to quickly bring the set within two points (5-3) but that would be the closest they got to tying the set as the Jackets continued to extend their lead. Despite battling to make the set 19-16, Georgia Tech record six of the final eight points of the set for a 25-8 set three win. Mambu, Despaigne, and Fiedorowicz collected three final kills while Soares stacked another 10 assists and five digs. Velez saw her best set defensively in the third with a team high six digs.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets are set to continue their five-match road swing against Boston College on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Syracuse on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

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