Jackets Sweep Orange in Sunday Road Match

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Georgia Tech volleyball (13-10, 8-6 ACC) finished the week on a high note as it swept the Syracuse Orange (13-11, 5-9 ACC) on the road on Sunday afternoon.

QUICK HITS

• Anna Fiedorowicz was the most dominant player offensively between the two teams as she tied her career high for kills for the third time this season with 17.
• Her .390 attack percentage was bested on Tech’s behalf by Mimi Mambu (.429) who also reached double-digit kills (15) and Bianca Garibaldi (.500) with seven kills on 12 swings.
• Fiedorowicz solid performance once again hit the career mark for kills but also a career high for attacks (41) and solo blocks (1) for the fourth time.
• The 17 kills and 41 attempts are both the most for a Yellow Jacket in a three-set so far this season. Mambu’s kills are just behind Fiedorowicz as the second most kills for a Yellow Jacket in a three-set match this season.
• Both Mambu and Fiedorowicz now have 11 matches this season with double-digit kills, eight of which were against ACC opponents for Mambu while all 11 for Fiedorowicz have come during conference play.
• Garibaldi’s team high .500 attack percentage marked her 10^th match of the season hitting above .450 and her third consecutive match hitting .500 or better.
• Sofia Velez recorded her 19th game of the season, her ninth consecutive match, with double digit digs. Her 11 digs bring her to 124 games recording 10+ digs out of 133 total collegiate games.
• The defensive specialist from Columbia also saw a career high three attacks.
• Freshman Laura Bieleski neared her career high in digs (11) with 10. Her double-digit digs on Sunday are the second time Bieleski has hit that mark this season.
• Heloise Soares was once again nothing short of an exceptional setter for Tech as she recorded 36 assists, averaging 12.0 assists per set, and a career high four service aces which tied the third most service aces in a three-set match.
• Her 36 assists and team high 13 digs were enough to earn the junior her 10^th career double-double, her eighth of the season.
• Tech saw high stats for a three-set match including its second most attempts (111), third most kills (46), and third most assists (45). The Jackets were able to keep service errors to a minimum today to see their second best serve percentage of the season (.973) bested only by their .989 serve percentage against No. 17 Purdue.
• Against the Orange the Jackets advance their record to 12-6 after now claiming victory in each of the last eight meetings, six of which were sweeps.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 25 – SYR 17)

• Set one saw the most effective version of Tech’s offense as the Yellow Jackets opened the match with 16 kills, 1 service ace, 16 digs, and one service ace along with a .344 attack percentage. Of Tech’s 16 kills, almost half belonged to Fiedorowicz (7); the freshman was one of four Jackets to hold a .500 attack percentage or higher in the opening set. After starting the set with a five-point scoring run, Tech held Syracuse to a minimum of two-point distance through to a 25-17 set win. Soares began the match with 12 assists on 26 attempts; Velez began with a team high five digs while Sores and Bieleski were just behind her with four each.

Set 2 (GT 25 – SYR 18)

• Tech remained hot through set two with 16 kills, 17 digs, three service aces, and two block assists along with a .333 attack percentage while also holding Syracuse to a .200 attack percentage for the second straight set. Set two began close with the two teams trading the lead through to 5-5 until Tech went on to outscore Syracuse 10-1 to establish a clear lead (15-6). The Orange continued to battle and were able to bring the set within two points before Georgia Tech called a timeout (19-17). Coming out of the break, the Jackets claimed six of the final seven points in set two for the win. Mambu led the group offensively in the second set with six kills and a .455 attack percentage while Fiedorowicz was just behind her with five kills. Soares and Velez shared the load in set two, Soares with 12 assists and a team high five digs and Velez with three assists and three digs. Half of Tech’s six total service aces came in the second set with Soares owning two.

Set 3 (GT  25 – SYR 17)

• The Jackets held the Orange to their lowest attack percentage of the match in set three (.162) while still applying pressure offensively. Set three looked similar to the start of set two with Tech holding a slight edge over Syracuse (7-5). Tech went on to stack points, two and three at a time while allowing the Orange to tally only another two points (14-7). The Jackets maintained no less than a seven-point lead through to the end of the match, finishing set three 25-17. Mambu and Fiedorowicz finished strong, Mambu with six final kills and Fiedorowicz with five. Soares capped her day with yet another 12 assists set as well as four final digs.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets will conclude the road swing next week with a mid-week clash against Clemson on Wednesday night in South Carolina before returning home to O’Keefe Gymnasium to host the Tigers on Friday night.

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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