Tech Falls in Conference Opener Against No. 24 Miami

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (5-5, 0-1 ACC) dropped its first ACC match of the season after a 3-0 result against No. 24 Miami (11-1, 1-0 ACC) on Friday night in O’Keefe Gymnasium.

QUICK HITS

• Tech volleyball saw the most Jackets in action so far this season as 13 Jackets played to take on the Hurricanes.
• DeAndra Pierce sported her third game of the season with a .500 attack percentage with four kills on eight swings.
• Senior Anna Boezi saw action for the second time this season and collected her second kill of the season during the third set.
• Heloise Soares recorded her 10^th consecutive match of the season with 15+ assists and averages 7.36 assists per set.
• Her 24 assists launched Soares into seventh for modern scoring era career assist records, surpassing Player Development Assistant and 2025 alumna Luanna Emiliano who had 1,011 during her one year at Tech.
• Anna Fiedorowicz made her second career start against the Hurricanes, with her first being against Wofford during the Georgia Tech Classic back in August.
• In her start, Fiedorowicz saw a career high 14 attack attempts, surpassing her previous high of 13 set against Bowling Green (9/5/25).
• Friday evening’s match was the 48^th consecutive sold out match at O’Keefe Gymnasium, a streak dating back to the 2021 season.
• The match up against No. 24 Miami is the fourth ranked match of the season for the Yellow Jackets.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 24 – MIA 26)

• Set one saw a tight race between Tech and Miami, with the visiting Hurricanes holding a slight edge. Despite trailing since the start of the set, the Yellow Jackets were able to fight their way back and take a one-point lead after piecing together a four-point run. Tech retained the lead 15-13 through set one until a four-point run gave Miami a two-point lead. Miami reached set point (24-22) but Tech knotted up set one at 24 apiece before the Hurricanes took set one 26-24. Pierce, Larissa Mendes, and Mimi Mambu all recorded three kills respectively with Pierce flashing a 1.000 attack percentage. Soares recorded nine of Tech’s 10 set one assists as well as five of Tech’s 11 digs.

Set 2 (GT 14 – MIA 25)

• The second set saw Tech begin to trail early as Miami put together a four-point run to make the match 11-6. Tech struggled to find an answer to Miami’s .571 attack percentage or a way around the Hurricanes’ defense and ultimately fell in set two. Mendes led the Jackets’ offense through set two with a .500 attack percentage. Bianca Garibaldi was just behind her with a .400 attack percentage and two kills. Soares was the sole player to record an assist in set two as she was credited with all seven of Tech’s assists. Sofia Velez, Mendes, and Fiedorowicz recorded two digs apiece.

Set 3 (GT 20 – MIA 25)

• Set three saw Tech sport its highest attack percentage while also holding Miami to both its lowest attack percentage and lowest number of kills of the match. The final set was also the only set that Tech recorded more kills and more assists than Miami. The Jackets saw a small lead to start set three (3-1) but a six-point run for the Hurricanes gave the lead to the visitors for the final time. Noemi Despaigne made a late appearance in the match and led the Jackets’ offense with four kills. Soares finished the match with eight of Tech nine final assists while also pitching in four of Tech’s final 14 kills.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets will continue with ACC play hosting Florida State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. Sunday’s match is set to be streamed on ACCNX.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

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