THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (3-0, 0-0 ACC) serves as host this week as the Yellow Jackets will welcome Southern Indiana (2-1, OVC 0-0), Campbell (1-1, 0-0 CAA), and Xavier (1-2, 0-0 Big East) to O’Keefe Gymnasium Sept. 4-6 for the annual Georgia Tech Classic.
Parking
Standard parking will be available in the Family Housing Lot two hours prior to first serve for each match. All parking is on a first come, first served basis. Fans are encouraged to take note of permit only lots such as the McCamish and the O’Keefe lots.
Traffic Alert
Thursday, Sept. 3 – Monday, Sept. 7
Dragon Con 2026 will be from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in downtown Atlanta, GA, featuring sci‑fi, fantasy, gaming, comics, art, music, and film across five host hotels and AmericasMart. The event is expected to see roughly 70,000 attendees which will affect traffic through both downtown and midtown Atlanta.
Clear Bag Policy
Throughout the 2026 season, O’Keefe Gymnasium will implement a strict clear bag policy. Any outside items brought into the facility must be contained within a clear bag. For more information on Georgia Tech’s policy, go to https://ramblinwreck.com/clearbag/
This Week’s Promos
The first 150 fans in attendance will receive a Georgia Tech pint glass upon departing O’Keefe Gymnasium at the completion of Friday’s 4 p.m. match. Signature Sundays begin this week as Tech fans can get posters and Tech gear signed by the 2026 Tech volleyball team following the 1 p.m. match against Xavier.
Storylines
- Laura Bieleski had an exceptional first week of the 2026 season setting a career high for kills across all three days starting 12 kills Friday against UNI and finishing with back-to-back 15 kill matches against Iowa State and Loyola.
- Bieleski’s 12 kills and 10 digs on Friday night mark the outside hitter’s first career double-double.
- Friday also saw Magda Kobaidze had a breakout performance against the Panthers with 11 kills, one service ace, one solo block and eight digs in her first ever collegiate match.
- The outside hitter’s impressive 11-kill debut is the first time a freshman has recorded double-digit kills in their first start since Larissa Mendes’ 11 kills against South Florida in 2023
- Tech’s 3-0 wins on Friday and Saturday mark the first time since 2013 that the Yellow Jackets have opened the season with back-to-back sweeps (3-0 vs. Chattanooga; 3-0 vs. Florida A&M).
- On Saturday, Mana Kaneko saw her second consecutive match with double-digit kills after recording 11 digs on Saturday against Iowa State and 14 on Friday against UNI.
- Alida Bennour 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.
- Against Loyola, 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).
- 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
- Soares, Kaneko, and Bieleski were all named to the Iowa State Cyclone All-Tournament Team with Bieleski being named the Tournament MVP after recording a combined 42 kills, averaging 4.20 kills/ set, along with a .345 attack percentage, one assist, one ace, 25 digs, and seven blocks.
- Please note in accordance with the 2026 NCAA Division I Volleyball rule book, teams will now change sides of the court at the end of the second set. At the coin toss prior to the fifth set, the team that wins the toss may choose to serve, receive or side of the court. Teams will remain on their respective side of the court for the fifth set. (NCAA Rule: 9.2.4.3 & 9.2.5.1)
Series Notes
- Friday’s tournament opening match for Tech will be a first ever meeting between the Yellow Jackets and the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana.
- Saturday fans will see the fourth ever meeting between Tech and Campbell with the hosting Jackets entering the match undefeated against the Fighting Camels.
- Tech’s Saturday afternoon appointment with Campbell is the first meeting since Tech’s 3-0 win in South Carolina back in 1996.
- The final match of the tournament has Tech taking on Xavier for the fourth time on Sunday.
- Despite meeting only three times prior, Tech enters the match undefeated against Xavier and has only surrendered one set to the Musketeers which came during the most recent match in 2017 (W, 3-1).
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. 2 Pitt, presented by Solomon Brothers and No. 8 SMU, presented by Delta. 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.