Volleyball Ventures West for Ameritas Players Challenge Hosted by No. 1 NebraskaVolleyball Ventures West for Ameritas Players Challenge Hosted by No. 1 Nebraska
Danny Karnik
Volleyball

Volleyball Ventures West for Ameritas Players Challenge Hosted by No. 1 Nebraska

Buy Tickets Opens in a new window McCamish Pack Opens in a new window Hike and Spike Opens in a new window Group Ticket Interest Opens in a new window

THE FLATS – After collecting an early week win, Georgoa Tech volleyball packs its bags to head to Licoln, Neb. to compete in the Ameritas Players Challenge, hosted by No. 1 Nebraska. The Jackets will begin the tournament on Sept. 10 against No. 20 Baylor before playing New Mexico Sept. 11 and the hosting Huskers Sept. 12. 

Storylines

  • The Yellow Jackets extended their season-opening streak to seven matches after defeating Oklahoma 3-1 on Tuesday night as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
  • Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference well as the 3-1 win made the Jackets one of three ACC teams to defeat their SEC foes.
  • Alida Bennour led the Yellow Jackets' offense for the fifth straight match with 16 kills paired with six aces and three digs.
  • Magda Kobaidze nearly saw her first career double-double with nine kills and a career high 11 digs.
  • Bennour’s 16 kills tied Kobaidze’s 16-kill performance against Campbell for the second most kills for a Yellow Jacket in a match so far this season. The right side now holds both the most (17) and the second most kills in a single match this season.
  • Her Tuesday night kills bring her to five double-digit kill matches all of which have been recorded consecutively. Bennour is one of two Jackets to have already recorded five double-digit kill matches with the other being Bieleski.
  • Heloise Soares pushed Tech’s offensive execution with 40 assists. It is her 15thcareer 40 assists match as a Yellow Jacket.
  • Soares not only hit the 2,000-career assist mark on against Campbell but went on to etch her name into the Georgia Tech volleyball record book for the fifth most career assists during the modern scoring era (2008-present) with 33 assists on Sunday against Xavier.
  • The senior sits 15th nationally for assists per set (10.80 assists/set) while also keeping Tech in the top 40 for assists per set as a team (40th; 12.75 assists/set).
  • Tech also finds itself ranked in the top-10 with a sixth-place team ranking for opponent hitting percentage (.107). Nebraska sits first in the same category (.066).
  • The Yellow Jackets remain not only undefeated this season but also undefeated when hosting the Sooners on The Flats (2-0). After the 3-1 win on Tuesday, Tech and Oklahoma are tied 2-2 in the overall series with both of the most recent meetings seeing Tech come out on top.
  • After seven straight wins, Tech volleyball is off to the best start since 2023 when the Jackets opened the season with a seven-match win streak.
  • The late-night match on The Flats marked the 62ndconsecutive sold out match at O’Keefe Gymnasium, a streak dating back to the 2021 season.

Series Notes

  • Tech will open Nebraska’s home tournament against No. 20 Baylor. The Jackets trail the overall series 1-0 against the Bears with the lone meeting resulting in a 3-0 loss at the Los Angeles, Calif. NCAA Tournament Round One neutral site in 2009.
  • Friday Tech will take on New Mexico for only the second time in the overall series. The Jackets fell 3-1 during their first meeting with the Lobos in Albuquerque, N.M. back in the 2013 season.
  • Saturday will see the Yellow Jackets conclude their time in Lincoln, Nebraska against the hosting Huskers with Tech entering the contest trailing 2-1 in the overall series.
  • Tech’s lone win over Nebraska came after a 3-2 finish back in the 2003 season as part of the Nebraska Invitational. That same season the Jackets went 33-4, 13-3 in ACC play and made it through to the NCAA Elite Eight after earning their fourth ACC Regular Season Championship.

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.