THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (7-7, 2-3 ACC) was back in the win column on Friday night after a 3-1 finish against Duke (4-12, 1-4 ACC) in O’Keefe Gymnasium. Career high kills from freshmen Mimi Mambu and Anna Fiedorowicz drove Tech’s offense while Heloise Soares recorded her fifth double-double performance of the season.
QUICK HITS
- Mambu led the Jackets’ offensive efforts with a career high 20 kills while Fiedorowicz claimed her new career high for kills in set four (17). The outside hitter was able to notch her career high kill performance with her second highest career attack percentage (.350).
- The 20-kill performance is the second time a Jacket has recorded 20 kills this season with the first being Noemi Despaigne against Ole Miss.
- Fiedorowicz not only tied her career high of 19.5 points but also recorded a career high 35 attacks for the third straight match after posting identical numbers last week against both No. 4 Pitt and No. 10 SMU.
- Soares’ seventh career double-double (41 assists, 10 digs) saw the junior record a career high number of attacks (7) as well as tie her career high for kills (2) for the fourth time and record her third highest assists percentage of the season (.446). The Friday showing marks the first time Soares has recorded back-to-back double-double performances.
- The pair of Noemi Despaigne and Bianca Garibaldi led the Jackets defensively, Despaigne with a career high six block assists and Garibaldi with eight total blocks, two of which were solo.
- Garibaldi’s eight blocks on Friday mark her eighth match of the season with five or more blocks in a match. Over the last three matches, Garibaldi has recorded a combined 26 blocks.
- The sophomore additionally boasted a .417 attack percentage with seven kills on 12 swings, paired with a career high three assists.
- Senior DeAndra Pierce saw a season high attack percentage (.750), recording her fifth match of the season hitting .500 of above.
- The Jackets’ Friday efforts were reflected in the numbers as they recorded their second most blocks of the season (13.0), second most points of the season (73.0), and third highest hitting percentage of the season (.316). Tech also saw its second most assists in a four-set match (54) and its second most kills in a four-set match (56).
- With the Friday win, Tech extended its win streak against Duke to eight matches. The Jackets have dominated the Blue Devils 24-7 sets across those last eight matches.
SET BY SET
Set 1 (GT 25 – DUKE 16)
- Set one was all Tech as the Jackets ran away with an early four-point lead and went on to keep the Blue Devils a minimum of three-points away throughout the remained of the set. Garibaldi was an absolute dominant force in set one as she led the team across the board with four kills on six swings along with two solo blocks and three block assists. Her .667 attack percentage was just above Pierce with a .500 attack percentage. Garibaldi’s four kills were bested only by Fiedorowicz who recorded more than half of Tech’s set one kills (6/11). Not only was Tech’s offense unmanageable for Duke, but the Blue Devils recorded eight attack errors and six service errors.
Set 2 (GT 25 – DUKE 19)
- The Jackets improved their attack percentage while holding the Blue Devils to a .129 attack percentage in set two. Duke grabbed the first point of the set but Tech quickly pieced together a three-point run to take the lead. The visiting Blue Devils clawed their way back to bring the set within one point (6-5), but that would be the closest they got as the Jackets slowly continued to push their lead all the way to a 25-19 set two win. Mambu came alive in set two with six kills and a .417 attack percentage. Fiedorowicz (4) and Despaigne (3) bolstered Tech’s offense while Soares did the same with nine assists. Freshman Laura Bieleski led the team in digs (4) with Sofia Velez just behind her (3).
Set 3 (GT 20 – DUKE 25)
- Set three was the most competitive of the match as Duke had the edge in both attack percentage (.471-.324) and kills (18-17). The third set began close until the Blue Devils went on to outscore the Jackets 7-2, making the score 11-7. Despite its continued fight, Tech fell 25-20 in set three. Mambu tacked on another seven kills, bringing her to 13 kills in the match. Fiedorowicz contributed four kills along side Pierce who contributed three to Tech 17 set three kills. Soares fought to the finish in set three as she recorded 15 of Tech’s 17 set three assists with a .517 assist percentage and three digs.
Set 4 (GT 25 – DUKE 16)
- The final set of the match was all Tech as the Jackets boasted a match high .357 attack percentage compared to the Blue Devils’ match low .074 attack percentage. As a result, Tech saw another 14 kills, seven of which belonged to Mambu, while Duke had nine. Not only was the Tech offensive unmanageable, but the Yellow Jacket defense posted a match high 10 blocks while keeping errors across the board to a minimum. Set four began close until Tech was able to outscore Duke 9-2, making the set 15-8 at the media timeout. Following the timeout, the Jackets continued their aggressive offensive push and held the Blue Devils at least six points away through to the end of the match. Fiedorowicz finished the match with three kills on six swings in the final set while Garibaldi tacked on two final kills as well. Soares had a solid finish recording nine of Tech’s 13 final assists with a .500 assist percentage.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets remain on The Flats to host No. 23 North Carolina in O’Keefe Gymnasium at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The match is set to be streamed on ACCNX.
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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