THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball drew 2-2 in its annual Gold/White scrimmage on Sunday, taking the court for the first live match action of the 2022 season.
The Jackets mixed up rosters for each set, playing through four sets. Five newcomers made their first appearances in White and Gold, including a pair of transfers in all-American Tamara Otene (Illinois State) and Tali Marmen (UCF) along with freshmen Cara Bianco, Anna Boezi and Mikayla White. Joining the newcomers were 13 returners from Tech’s 2021 Elite Eight team, including reigning ACC and AVCA region player of the year as well as first team all-American Julia Bergmann.
White jumped in front early, battling out a 25-21 victory in set one and dominating set two for a 25-14 triumph. Gold bounced back in the final two sets, pushing White to extra points to come out on top, 28-26, in the third set before cruising to a 25-14 win in the fourth set. Competition ended with the match knotted at two apiece.
Overall, Bergmann put together the most well-rounded performance with a double double behind 13 kills, a team-leading 14 digs and three total blocks. Otene made waves in her first appearance in White and Gold, leading the Jackets on the attack with 16 kills while adding nine digs. Sophomore outside hitter Bianca Bertolino also shined compiling 15 kills, seven digs, four total blocks and three aces. Orchestrating each offense, junior setter Isabella D’Amico led the match with 31 assists to go with nine digs and three block assists while senior setter Nicole Drewnick turned in a double double with 23 assists, 12 digs and seven block assists. Defensively, senior middle blocker Erin Moss led the squad with nine total blocks on top of six kills.