THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball saw a five-set victory for the White team at the annual Gold/White scrimmage as it took the court for the first live match action of the 2021 season on Sunday.
The Jackets mixed up rosters for each set, playing out all five. Eight newcomers made their first appearances in Gold and White in transfers Nicole Drewnick (Nebraska) and Paola Pimentel (Miami Dade) as well as incoming freshmen Bianca Bertolino, Kali Engeman, Laura Fischer, Ashlyn Goolsby, Leia Harper and Lauren Sanden.
White jumped in front early, cruising to a 25-15 win in set one followed by a 25-19 victory in set two. Gold responded with a dominant, 25-11 win in set three and a 25-22 win in set four, taking the final three points to end the set after being on the ropes tied at 22 all. With the tally even at two sets apiece, set five required extra points as the two squads battled things out. With the score already being tied six times up to a 13-all deadlock, Gold and White found themselves even again at 14 after a kill from junior middle blocker Erin Moss for Gold and once more at 15 following a setter kill by Drewnick for White. From there, a Gold error and kill by Harper sealed White’s 17-15 set victory and 3-2 match win.
Overall, senior outside hitter Mariana Brambilla led the day with 20 kills to go with 16 digs for a double double. Junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann was not far behind Brambilla, tallying 18 kills and 13 digs for her own double double. Senior setter Matti McKissock took the lead in the assist column with 31 assists, and Pimentel piled up the most digs with 20. Senior middle blocker Breland Morrissette was the most dominant middle defender with eight total blocks, and Sanden was a service marksman with three aces.