THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball and coach Michelle Collier announced the official signing of Nebraska transfer Nicole Drewnick to the program on Wednesday. The setter will arrive on The Flats with sophomore eligibility after competing in nearly every contest for the Huskers in 2019 and opting out of the 2020-21 season.
Drewnick, a Dallas native, joined the Big Red in the summer of 2019 as an early enrollee after reclassifying. Upon arriving in Lincoln, Neb., Drewnick played in 29 matches throughout her freshman season, totaling 10 assists, two aces and three digs in 42 sets. She made her collegiate debut in the Huskers’ season opener against No. 18 Creighton, coming off the bench. The future Jacket setter’s career highlights include a pair of assists in wins over Wichita State and High Point, an assist and a dig against No. 2 Stanford, a couple of digs against No. 13 Wisconsin, an ace in wins over Maryland and Michigan State and at least one assist in four different matches.
Prior to joining the collegiate ranks amongst the stark competition in the Big Ten, Drewnick was a two-time Texas 6A State Champion at Hebron High School during her freshman and sophomore seasons. She played both setter and hitter for her club volleyball team, Texas Instinct, as they finished third in the USA Division at the USAV Junior National Championships in 2016.
Along with her playing experience stateside, Drewnick will become the fifth current Jacket with experience at the international level for Brazil after spending the majority of her junior year of high school competing on the Brazilian Youth National Team. After helping them qualify for the 2019 FIVB World Championships, she now joins Mariana Brambilla, Julia Bergmann, Paola Pimentel and assistant coach Claudio Pinheiro in spending time at the international level for Brazil.
Drewnick comes from a family of athletes as her mother, Cilene, played volleyball in the 1992 Olympics for Brazil while her father, Eduardo, played basketball for the Brazilian National Team as well as in college at Lamar, Southern Idaho and Houston.
On top of her athletic acumen, the incoming Jacket has been successful in the classroom to date as she was selected to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2019, 2020; Spring 2020), the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2020, 2021) and named Academic All-Big Ten (2020).
Drewnick becomes the fourth offseason addition to Georgia Tech’s 2021 signing class, bolstering a crop of young talent including libero/defensive specialists Lauren Sanden and Pimentel as well as fellow setter Ashlyn Goolsby. The four future Jackets will join 10 returning current players, including all six regular starters.
Georgia Tech now prepares for its upcoming fall slate after concluding the 2020-21 season by advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship for the first time since 2004. The Yellow Jackets took down Lipscomb in the First Round for their first NCAA Tournament win in nearly 21 years. The berth in the Big Dance alone marked the 10th time in program history, the first for the Yellow Jackets since 2009 and the first appearance under coach Collier.
Tech had three Jackets receive yearly honors in Brambilla (AVCA All-American, All-ACC First Team), Bergmann (AVCA All-American, All-ACC First Team) and Matti McKissock (All-ACC Second Team), each of whom will return next season.
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