Late Surge Lifts Georgia Tech Past Cal in Four Sets

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (10-8, 5-4 ACC) began the week with a win after downing the California Golden Bears (6-13, 3-6 ACC) 3-1 on Friday night in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The Jackets were led on offense by the freshmen trio of Anna Fiedorowicz, Mimi Mambu, and Noemi Despaigne with a combined 43 kills.

QUICK HITS

• Fiedorowicz tied her career high for kills (17) which she originally set two weeks ago against Duke. With 17 kills on 32 swings, Fiedorowicz recorded a new career high attack percentage (.469).
• Her 17 kills and 10 digs not only earned the Polish native her third career double-double but also extended her double-digit kill streak to eight matches. She has now record double-digit kills in every ACC match this season except one.
• Mambu recorded her ninth match of the season with double-digit kills (16). Her .308 attack percentage on Friday is her third best against an ACC opponent this season.
• Despaigne notched her third consecutive match with double-digit kills with 10 against California. The Italy native also saw a career high seven block assists, surpassing her previous career high of six set against Duke earlier this season.
• Laura Bieleski helped Tech tie its season high for aces (9) with a career high six aces, the most for a Yellow Jacket in a single match this season.
• Bieleski joins nine other Yellow Jackets in Tech volleyball modern scoring era history to record six or more aces in a single match. The most recent Jacket to do was Bianca Bertolino last season against North Carolina (11/3/24).
• DeAndra Pierce once again had a solid showing for Tech as she recorded nine kills along with the second-best attack percentage (.471), bested only by Fiedorowicz.
• The senior also helped lead Tech’s defense with seven blocks, bested only by fellow middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi who saw her second most block assists this season (8).
• Garibaldi’s eight blocks are tied with her performances against Duke and Pittsburgh for the second most blocks for a Jacket this season, alongside Pierce’s showings against Wake Forest and NC State. Her eight blocks on Friday are just behind her 10-block performance against SMU.
• Sofia Velez recorded her 14th game of the season, her fourth consecutive match, with double digit digs. Her 13 digs bring her to 119 games recording 10+ digs out of 128 total collegiate games.
• Heloise Soares recorded 43 of Tech’s 56 assists, with Velez picking up a season high eight assists as well. Soares’ 43 assists are tied for the third most this season and the most for a Yellow Jacket during a four-set match this season.
• The Jackets saw one of their best attack percentages of the season (.390) just behind their Wake Forest attack percentage (.424) as well as their second most kills (60), second most assists (56), and second most blocks (15).
• Tech remains undefeated against Cal and advances to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in conference play, against the Golden Bears after Friday’s win.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 23 – Cal 25)

• Set one was the closest set of the match by far with Cal holding a .261 attack percentage and 18 kills over Tech ‘s .237 attack percentage and 14 kills. The first set saw both teams trade points and trade the lead five times, but with Tech leading 23-21, Cal pieced together the final four points to take set one. Mambu began the match with a team high seven kills while Fiedorowicz (4) and Despaigne (3) made up the rest of Tech’s set one kills. Soares was able to earn 10 assists while Velez had the other three to make up Tech’s 13 set one assists. Velez led the Jackets defensively in digs (5) while Pierce tried to handle challenges at the net with four blocks.

Set 2 (GT 25 – Cal 21)

• Though set two was still close on the scoreboard, Tech took the early lead and never let Cal even tie the set. The Jackets not only improved their attack percentage to .350 but also held the Golden Bears to a .226 attack percentage and recorded double Cal’s set two kills (20). After piecing together two points at a time to start set two, Tech had a pretty decent distance from Cal. A five-point scoring run helped keep the Golden Bears trailing through to the 25-21 set two win. Mambu tacked another six kills, bringing her to 11 kills in set two. Pierce joined Mambu in the offensive efforts with five kills on eight swings. Soares found a rhythm, recording 15 assists off 31 attempts in set two.

Set 3 (GT  25 – Cal 11)

• Set three is when the Jackets came alive as they recorded 13 kills on 19 attempts while holding the Golden Bears to only six kills on 27 attempts. Tech’s ability to keep its errors to a minimum, paired with 10 blocks helped hold Cal to only 11 points in set three. The third set began tight with Tech holding a two-point lead until the Jackets went on to outscore Cal, 11-1, to lead the set 21-9. Four of the five Jackets for had kills in set three finished the set hitting above .500; all five finished with at least two kills, with Garibaldi leading with four. Soares boasted a match high .615 assist percentage as she earned eight of Tech 11 set three assists. Pierce had her second set of the match record multiple blocks while Despaigne had her first.

Set 4 (GT  25 – Cal 7)

• The Jackets were nothing short of unmanageable in set four with 13 kills, six aces, 13 digs, and four blocks as well as a .571 attack percentage. Cal’s offense struggled in the final set and finished with five kills on 26 attempts, five digs, and two blocks. Similar to set three, the teams starting the set close until Tech’s offense once again found its groove and went on to outscore Cal, 15-1, to lead the set 21-6. The Golden Bears would record one final kill before three kills from Fiedorowicz and one from Despaigne put the Jackets in the win column. Fiedorowicz was unstoppable in the final set with eight kills on 10 swings, good for an exceptional .800 attack percentage. She was joined on offense by Pierce’s .500 attack percentage and Despaigne’s .667 attack percentage. Soares had 10 final assist as well as five digs.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets remain on The Flats to host No. 5 Stanford Sunday at 12 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match is set to be streamed on ACCN.

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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