Tech Falls to Miami in Five-Set Sunday Match

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Georgia Tech volleyball (11-5, 3-2 ACC) saw its second loss in conference play after falling to Miami (7-8, 5-1 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in Coral Gables, Fla.  

• Alida Bennour led Tech’s offense with a career-high 22 kills, marking her 12th match of the season with double-digit kills. Bennour owns all three of Tech’s 20-plus-kill performances this season, with the other two coming against UgA and Virginia.
• Magda Kobaidze recorded a career-high 13 digs to go with 14 kills, earning her third career double-double. Her first two double-doubles came just last week against Duke and No. 25 North Carolina.
• The freshman outside hitter’s three consecutive double-double performances are part of a five-match streak with double-digit digs.
• Kobaidze contributed two aces to Tech’s nine total on Sunday, marking her third consecutive match with multiple aces.
• Larissa Mendes returned to action against Miami on Sunday, finishing with four kills on seven swings and a .429 hitting percentage. The senior returned after a knee injury during the 2025 season forced her to miss the final 19 matches of the season.
• Bianca Garibaldi tied her career high with three assists against the Hurricanes. The junior helped pace Tech’s offense with a season-high .700 hitting percentage and seven kills while also contributing four blocks.
• Zoe Humphrey bolstered Tech’s defensive efforts with eight blocks, including two solo blocks. It marked her fifth match of the season with five or more blocks and her third match in the last five with at least one solo block.
• Freshman Sasha Godey also recorded a career-high seven assists on Sunday.
• Fellow freshman Simone Heard recorded her first career block in the fourth set.
• Anna Fiedorowicz saw action against the Hurricanes, recording seven kills and 10 digs across all five sets on Sunday.
• Tech’s 61 kills were the second most in a match this season for the Yellow Jackets, trailing only the 65 recorded last week against No. 25 North Carolina. The Jackets also recorded their third-highest single-match block total of the season with 12, behind their performances against Campbell and No. 25 North Carolina, when they recorded 18 blocks in each match.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 24 – MIA 26)

Tech kept Miami trailing for the majority of the opening set before the Hurricanes established a two-point lead heading into the media timeout. The Jackets fought back to even the score at 22-22 before Miami called a late timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Tech was outscored 3-2 and called a timeout of its own as Miami reached set point. Despite recording a .370 hitting percentage and three blocks, Tech dropped the opening set, 26-24. Bennour led the Jackets offensively with five kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Heloise Soares recorded eight of Tech’s 10 assists in the opening set, while Garibaldi contributed to one-third of the Jackets’ blocks.

Set 2 (GT 25 – MIA 22)

The Jackets trailed early in the second set but worked their way back, piecing together a four-point run to take a 19-18 lead. Tech maintained its advantage at 21-19 before Miami used its first timeout of the set. Coming out of the timeout, the Jackets outscored the Hurricanes 4-3 to secure the set win. Bennour continued her offensive production, recording six kills with a .667 hitting percentage in the second set. Kobaidze added four kills, while Mendes contributed three. Tech also saw contributions from multiple setters, with Soares recording six assists, Godey adding four and Kaneko tallying three. Garibaldi, Bennour and Zoe Humphrey each added an assist.

Set 3 (GT 25 – MIA 22)

Despite Miami holding the advantage in hitting percentage (.208-.156), the Jackets recorded more kills (12-11), aces (4-2) and blocks (5-3) to take the third set. Tech and Miami battled through a tight frame, with the Jackets holding a 15-13 advantage heading into the media timeout. Tech then pieced together a four-point run to create separation and force a Miami timeout. The Hurricanes worked their way back to cut the deficit to three, but the Jackets closed out the set with a kill from Bennour. The set-winning kill was one of five Bennour recorded in the frame. Soares added nine assists, while Humphrey led Tech defensively with one solo block and three block assists. Fiedorowicz also contributed three kills, two aces, four digs and one block assist in the third set.

Set 4 (GT 20 – MIA 25)

Miami jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set, forcing Tech to call a timeout while trailing 7-2. Despite the Jackets’ efforts to mount a comeback, they could only cut the deficit to three at 19-16 before the Hurricanes secured the 25-20 set win. Bennour continued to lead Tech offensively with four kills, while Garibaldi added three and Kobaidze contributed two. Soares recorded nine assists for the second consecutive set. Kobaidze also recorded four of her career-high 13 digs in the fourth frame.

Set 5 (GT 13 – MIA 15)

Tech once again had to play from behind in the final frame as Miami built a three-point lead before the Jackets called their first timeout. Despite continuing to battle, Tech called its second timeout while trailing 11-7. The Jackets responded by fighting back to tie the set at 13-13, prompting a final Miami timeout after Kaneko’s kill. A Miami kill followed by a Tech service error sealed the match for the Hurricanes. Bennour, Kobaidze and Fiedorowicz each recorded two kills in the final set. Soares tallied seven assists, while Godey added two.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets return home for a four-match homestand starting with Syracuse Oct. 16 and Boston College Oct. 18 before welcoming No. 2 Pittsburgh Oct. 23, presented by Solomon Brothers, and No. 6 SMU Oct. 25, presented by Delta, to McCamish Pavilion.

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 and No. 6 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.