No. 14 Jackets Fend off WolfpackNo. 14 Jackets Fend off Wolfpack
Volleyball

No. 14 Jackets Fend off Wolfpack

Tech handles NC State in four sets for sweet victory on Halloween

THE FLATS – No. 14 Georgia Tech volleyball took care of NC State (20-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-16) for its eighth consecutive win in ACC play on Sunday afternoon in O’Keefe Gymnasium. After a slow start in the first set, the Jackets roared back with a vengeance to outscore the Wolfpack 75-47 in the final three sets, stifling the Pack to a near 0 hitting percentage throughout the match.

Senior setter Matti McKissock highlighted the day as she set up the Tech offense on the way to 42 assists, moving to third in program history in career assists with 3,666 to date.

The Brazilian bomb squad of junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann and senior right-side hitter Mariana Brambilla was the focal point of the Jacket attack yet again, combining for 39 total kills. Bergmann led the way with 21 kills at a solid .400 clip while tallying 10 digs, three block assists and a pair of aces for her team-high 10th double double this season. Brambilla bolstered the two-headed attack with 18 kills of her own, including three aces, along with eight digs and a block assist.

Defensively, senior middle blocker Breland Morrissette anchored Georgia Tech with four block assists while junior libero Paola Pimentel led the team with 14 digs.

Georgia Tech (19-3, 10-2 ACC) overtook NC State (13-10, 7-5 ACC) by a wide margin on paper, leading the Wolfpack in kills (57-36), hitting percentage (.286-.087), assists (51-35) and digs (58-36).

The Yellow Jackets have now won 30 of their last 34 matches in O’Keefe Gymnasium. Georgia Tech has also won 51 of its last 60 matches dating back to 2019.

Volleyball vs. NC State

October 31, 2021 (Clyde Click)

How it Happened

NC State got going early in the first set, using a four-point run to go up 8-5, a lead it would hang onto throughout the set. Georgia Tech climbed within striking distance using multiple three-point runs to trail 13-10 and later 17-14 before ending up down three yet again at 22-19, but the Jackets were unable to close the gap any further, falling 25-20 in set one.

Tech flipped the script in the second set, taking 10 of 13 points early to race out to a 13-5 lead. Despite the Wolfpacks efforts to claw back, the Jackets steadily pressed on, furthering the gap to 11 points when all was said and done for a 25-14 beatdown of a second set win to even the match.

The third set was much of the same for the White and Gold as they rattled off six straight points in the early goings to leap ahead, 11-4. The Tech attack remained ablaze as the set went on with the Jackets going on a stretch taking 10 of 11 points out to a commanding, 21-8 lead. Georgia Tech cruised to victory from there as a Brambilla kill sealed the 25-17 set win to give the home squad a 2-1 match lead.

The Yellow Jackets carried their momentum into the fourth set, using a pair of three-point bursts to speed in front, 13-7. NC State managed to draw within four, but Tech answered with five straight points of its own up to a comfortable 21-12 lead. The Jackets rolled on to close out the match as McKissock caught the Pack defense sleeping for a setter kill, resulting in a 25-16 fourth set win and 3-1 match win for Tech.

Up Next

Georgia Tech will host the back end of its four-match homestand, welcoming Miami and Florida State to O’Keefe Gymnasium next weekend. The Jackets will brace for the Hurricanes for Senior Day on Friday at 7 p.m. before concluding the weekend against the Seminoles at 1 p.m. Coverage information will be available here.

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