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Friday Night Sees Tech Fall to No. 2 Pitt in McCamish PavilionFriday Night Sees Tech Fall to No. 2 Pitt in McCamish Pavilion
Danny Karnik
Volleyball

Friday Night Sees Tech Fall to No. 2 Pitt in McCamish Pavilion

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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (13-6, 5-3 ACC) began its week in McCamish Pavilion falling 3-0 to No. 2 Pittsburgh (18-1, 8-1 ACC) on Friday night.

Quick Hits:

  • Alida Bennour recorded double-digit kills for the seventh consecutive match and the 15th time this season, leading the Yellow Jackets’ offense with 12 kills on Friday.
  • Bennour also tied her career high in solo blocks for the second time this season. All three of her career solo blocks have come against ACC opponents: North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia Tech.
  • Bennour continued to excel at the service line, recording four aces. The performance marked her eighth match this season with at least three aces. In conference play, Bennour has recorded 26 service aces, averaging 0.90 aces per set.
  • Magda Kobaidze tied her career high in assists for the third time this season. Each of her career-high performances has come against an ACC opponent: Duke, North Carolina, Pitt and Virginia.
  • Defensive specialist Vitoria Belfort tied her career high in aces after recording the first ace of her career last week against Boston College.
  • Friday’s contest marked Tech’s first home loss of the season and its fourth ranked matchup of the year.
  • Friday night was the fifth consecutive season Georgia Tech volleyball has hosted an opponent at McCamish Pavilion. The contest also marked the second time the Yellow Jackets have hosted Pitt at the venue. The first-ever McCamish volleyball match featured the No. 9 Panthers during the 2022 season.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 19 - Pitt 25)

Despite their evenly matched defense, the Jackets’ higher number of attack and reception errors made it hard to battle the Panthers’ .423 attack percentage in set one. After the Panthers’ three point run to open the set, Tech and Pitt traded off points with neither getting further than three-points from the other. When Pitt did manage to establish a four-point lead, Tech quickly went on a four-point run to tie things up, 14-14. Coming out of the media timeout, the Jackets found themselves trailing, 18-15, and worked to bring set one within one point, prompting a Panther timeout (19-18). Bennour was able to record one final set one kill for Tech but it would be Pitt that would go on to see the 25-19 win. Tech’s final set one point was the result of one of three of Bennour’s three kills. Laura Bieleski also recorded three kills with a .500 attack percentage. Soares began the match with 10 assists on 23 attempts.  


Set 2 (GT 13 – Pitt 25)
In a rare sighting, Tech struggled offensively in set two, as a high number of attack errors limited the Jackets to five kills making it hard to beat out Pitt’s 12 kills and .320 attack percentage. After a close set two start, Pitt pieced together a five-point run, resulting in a Tech’s first timeout (7-3). The Jackets were able to score the next point coming out of the timeout, but the Panthers were able to outscore Tech, 6-2, with five of those points coming from Tech errors. Despite their best efforts to fight back, the Jackets trailed, 15-7, headed into the media timeout and went on to dropped set two, 25-13.  


Set 3 (GT 18 – Pitt 25)
The final frame began with Tech jumping out in front and taking an early lead before Pitt tied the set, 6-6. The Panthers forced an early timeout from the Yellow Jackets which was enough to spark Tech’s offense and bring the set within two points (12-10). Despite the push, Tech trailed going into the media timeout, 15-11, and found itself trailing 20-13 late into the set. The Jackets continued to battle, bringing the set back within four points but the Panthers continued to stack points and went on to take the 25-18 set win. Bennour saw an exceptional third set with seven kills on 11 swings, good for a .636 attack percentage. Soares finished the day with 12 final assists. Humphrey record two final blocks as well.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets remain on The Flats to host No. 7 SMU Oct. 25, presented by Delta, once again in McCamish Pavilion. Sunday’s match is also set to be streamed on ACCN.  

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.