No. 11 Georgia Tech Rattles Florida A&MNo. 11 Georgia Tech Rattles Florida A&M
Volleyball

No. 11 Georgia Tech Rattles Florida A&M

Jackets best Rattlers for third straight sweep

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — No. 11 Georgia Tech volleyball (7-0) tallied its seventh straight victory to tie the fourth hottest start in program history with a sweep (25-15, 25-20, 25-15) of Florida A&M (2-7) on Sunday in the Al Lawson Center. The Yellow Jackets earned their third consecutive sweep and fourth sweep of the season as they handled the Rattlers with a pair of double-digit set wins.

Freshman outside hitter Larissa Mendes led the Jacket attack yet again with 16 kills at a solid .500 clip with five digs. Joining her with double-digit kills once again was senior outside hitter Tamara Otene with 11 to go with six digs. Sophomore middle blocker Liv Mogridge was the most efficient attacker for Tech, coming away with seven kills on a .700 hitting percentage.

Setting up the attack was senior setter Bella D’Amico, who totaled 40 assists. Senior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino put in a well-rounded performance with eight kills and 11 digs, and senior libero Paola Pimentel cleaned up the back end with a team-high 12 digs.

Tech overwhelmed FAMU on paper, owning advantages in kills (46-26), hitting percentage (.354-.126), assists (43-25) and digs (41-34).

No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. Florida A&M

September 10, 2023 (Tyler Rover)

How it Happened

Florida A&M used its home-court advantage early, moving ahead 9-6 in set one. Georgia Tech woke up from there and never looked back, using a seven-point run to take a 13-9 lead. The White and Gold later increased the advantage to 19-11 with a four-point burst and went on to take the first set by double-digits, 25-15.

Set two was back-and-forth early, but the Yellow Jackets began to separate with a three-point stretch for a 10-7 lead. The Rattlers would draw within a point, but spurts of four and three by Tech would keep FAMU at bay as the White and Gold moved up to a 22-18 advantage and later took the second set, 25-20.

Georgia Tech would continue to rally in bursts of three, opening up a 7-3 lead early in set three and later building up a 19-11 gap. The Jackets would cruise onto another 25-15 triumph for the third set and a match sweep.

Up Next

Georgia Tech will make its home debut by hosting the Georgia Tech Classic, beginning with Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate against Georgia in McCamish Pavilion, presented by Delta (Sept. 15). The White and Gold will also take on Howard (Sept. 16) and San Diego (Sept. 17) in O’Keefe Gymnasium.

Multimedia

Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.   

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Instagram (@GTVolleyball), Twitter (@GTVolleyball), Facebook (Georgia  Tech Volleyball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.