AMES, IOWA – Georgia Tech volleyball (3-0) polished off an undefeated opening weekend with a 3-1 (25-11, 21-25, 25-18, 25-14) win over Loyola Chicago (0-3) on Sunday from inside James H. Hilton Coliseum.
Laura Bieleski tied her career high with 15 kills to bring her weekend total to 42 across the three-match tournament. Freshman Alida Bennour also had a breakout performance on Sunday with a college career high 17 kills on .448 hitting as the Yellow Jackets were named Cyclone Invite champions.
Quick Hits:
- Georgia Tech begins the 2026 season 3-0 for the second season in a row.
- The Jackets dropped their first set of the year in the second set today, giving them seven consecutive sets won to begin the season for the first time in the Michelle Collier era and first time since 2012 (15 straight).
- Tech went 3-0 to win a non-conference preseason tournament hosted by a Power 4 school for the first time since 2022, when Tech won the Ole Miss Invitational.
- GT is now 2-0 all-time against Loyola Chicago.
- Laura Bieleski produced her second consecutive 15 kill performance, this time doing so on just 23 swings for a career-best .522 hitting percentage while also adding in nine digs and her first ace of the season.
- Over her last two matches, Bieleski has turned in 30 kills on .481 hitting with 15 digs and four blocks.
- Alida Bennour led the offense with 17 kills on .448 hitting while also adding in five blocks and seven digs defensively.
- The freshman broke out in a big way, producing more kills in this match (17) than her previous two combined (12) while maintaining a very strong .448 hitting efficiency.
- Heloise Soares held the keys to the offense, finishing with 40 assists. It is her 14th career 40 assists match as a Yellow Jacket.
- The senior setter now sits at 1,941 career assists as she inches closer to becoming the sixth Yellow Jacket in the modern scoring era to ever reach 2,000 over her career.
SET BY SET
Set 1 (GT 25 – LUC 11)
The Yellow Jackets began the day with an exceptional offensive effort in set one including 12 kills and a .733 team attack percentage with only one attack error. Tech quickly established a five-point lead and forced Loyola to take a timeout. The Yellow Jackets continued to stack points while fending off the Ramblers’ offense through to a 25-11 set win. Bieleski started the match with a team high five kills while Bennour had three. Soares recorded the bulk of Tech’s assists with seven. Both Bennour and Soares were able to record one ace respectively in the opening set as well. Zoe Humphrey fortified part of Tech’s defense with a team high three blocks.
Set 2 (GT 21 – LUC 25)
Tech found itself trailing in set two, going into the media timeout with a three-point deficit. Despite being able to claw back and bring the set within two points, the Yellow Jackets dropped set two 25-21. Bennour, Bieleski, and Kobaidze all recorded four kills respectively. Soares stacked another 12 assists on 22 attempts. Soares, Bieleski, and Kobaidze also saw three digs apiece.
Set 3 (GT 25 – LUC 18)
Set three Tech once again found its stride, establishing a six-point lead over Loyola before the Ramblers took their first timeout. The Yellow Jackets kept that lead through the media timeout and eventually all the way to the 25-18 set three win. Bennour paced Tech’s offense in the third with five kills alongside Bieleski with three.
Set 4 (GT 25 – LUC 14)
The Jackets dominated play in the fourth set, going on a 6-0 scoring run to jump in front, 6-1, and never letting the Ramblers within three points. Tech controlled the pace of play throughout the set, producing sideouts on 11 of 14 opportunities, out-hitting LUC .543 to .080 and out-digging them 11-4. Bennour led the offense with five kills on eight swings while teaming up with Garibaldi for three blocks. Soares spread the ball around well with six Jackets taking multiple swings leading to 11 assists for the senior. Bieleski led the way on the floor with four digs.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech returns to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invite this coming weekend. The home opener is set for Friday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. against Southern Indiana. Tickets can be purchased HERE
2026 McCamish Matches
Tech volleyball’s annual McCamish Match is set to return with twice the action as the Yellow Jackets will take on No. 4 Pitt and No. 11 SMU. Tickets are priced as follows for the ranked matches:
Pitt - $23
SMU - $20
Group rate - $18 for Pitt | $15 for SMU
McCamish Pack (includes tickets to both matches) - $32
Tickets for the McCamish Matches can be purchased here.
Single Match Tickets
Single match tickets are now on sale with tickets prices for the 15-match home schedule start at just $10.00 with youth pricing and group discounts (10+ in a single transaction) available (youth pricing not available online).
To purchase, click here.
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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
-#StingEm-