Ranked Sunday Test in Pittsburgh Sees Jackets Come Up Short

PITTSBURGH, PA. – Georgia Tech volleyball (6-7, 1-3 ACC) came up short after losing Sunday afternoon’s four set match against No. 5 Pittsburgh (12-2, 4-0 ACC).

QUICK HITS

• Anna Fiedorowicz led Tech’s offense in back-to-back matches this week after posting a career high 14 kills and tying her career high for attack attempts (35) for the second straight match.
• The freshman also had a career day from the service line as she contributed a career high five aces to Tech’s eight total aces against Pittsburgh. Her five aces were the most recorded by a Jacket in a single match this season, surpassing the previous high of four from Mimi Mambu against Arkansas State.
• Her 19.5 points against Pittsburgh are the third most points for a Jacket this season, just behind Mambu’s 20.0-point performance against Arkansas State.
• Mambu finished the day with nine kills and saw her third most attempts this season.
• Bianca Garibaldi was a force to be reckoned with defensively as she posted her second-best blocking performance of the season (8 blocks) just behind her program top-5 performance 10 blocks against No. 11 SMU.
• Garibaldi finished the day with nine kills on 12 swings, good for a team high .500 attack percentage. Friday’s offensive execution marked the fourth time Garibaldi has recorded at least a .500 attack percentage.
• Heloise Soares had a solid showing across the board as her 36 assists and 11 digs earned the junior her fourth double-double performance of the season.
• Her 36 assists tied her season high for assists in a four-set match, previously set against Arkansas State, as well as marked the sixth game of the season that she recorded 90+ assist attempts.
• As a team, the Jackets saw a season high for total blocks (14.5), surpassing the previous season high of 11.5 set against Ole Miss. The team’s eight service aces were tied for the second most this season, set originally against No. 17 Purdue.
• Sunday’s match against No. 5 Pittsburgh was Tech’s highest ranked opponent so far this season, surpassing the Jackets match against No. 6 Wisconsin. This week was also the second time this season that Tech faced back-to-back ranked opponents.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 17 – PITT 25)

• Tech took a small three-point lead to start set one, but Pittsburgh was quick to go on a five-point run to force the Jackets to trail 6-4 early. The Jackets pushed to keep set one close and did just that, bringing the set within one point (13-12) before an eight-point scoring run pushed the Panthers to a 21-12 lead. Tech continued to battle, scoring five final points in set one, but were unable to achieve the set one comeback. Eight Tech attack errors were accompanied by both a .345 attack percentage and 11 blocks on the Pittsburgh side, leading to Tech falling 25-17 to begin the match. Fiedorowicz led the group on offense with four kills on seven swings and two service aces while Soares (3) and Garibaldi (2) marked multiple assists.

Set 2 (GT 19 – PITT 25)

• Pitt was able to get the jump on Tech in set two but the Jackets continued to fight and even tied up the set three times (13-13, 16-16, and 18-18). The set two turning point was when the Panthers went on a six-point scoring run to reach set point (24-18). Fiedorowicz would get one final set two kill, bringing her to seven total for the match, but Pitt would ultimately take set two. Errors offensively ultimately kept the Jackets from taking the set two lead

Set 3 (GT  25 – PITT 21)

• Set three was a completely different story as Tech improved its stats across the board, posting more kills (14-11), more blocks (11-6), and a higher attack percentage (.296- .138) than Pittsburgh. The third set began with Tech getting a jump on Pitt before the Panthers tied the set 6-6. Regardless of the Panthers being able to get the set tying point, the Jackets were able to constantly stay one point ahead until they outscored Pitt 7-1 to lead the set 16-10. Pitt trailed for the remainder of the set and even brought the set within one point (20-19), but Tech’s heart and grit was enough to carry it to a 25-21 set three win. Senior DeAndra Pierce had an exceptional third set with four kills on five swings for a team high .800 attack percentage. Garibaldi found her stride as well in the third set, also recording four kills and four blocks. Soares was an effective piece in the Tech rotation, being credited with 12 assists on 22 attempts.

Set 4 (GT 23 – PITT 25)

• Tech’s energy from the third set worked its way into the fourth as Tech jumped out with a 7-5 lead. A three-point run from the Panthers tied the set 9-9 before the two teams would go on to see a tied match another 12 times. With set four getting closer to set point, Tech held the 23-21 lead thanks to a kill from Noemi Despaigne, but the Panthers would piece together a four-point run to take the match 25-23. Both teams saw their best work offensively in the final set with Tech sporting a .351 attack percentage with 17 kills on 37 attempts and Pitt with a .400 attack percentage with 18 kills on 35 attempts. The final set saw both Mambu and Fiedorowocz record five kills on 13 attempts. Soares finished strong with 16 assists and a .533 assist percentage in the final set. Five Jackets collected one additional block assist in the final set as well.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets will return home to The Flats to host the Duke Blue Devils on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. and the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m.

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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