THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (15-10, 7-7 ACC) finished the week strong, sweeping Wake Forest (9-16, 3-11 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Quick Hits:
- Alida Bennour recorded her 13th consecutive match with double-digit kills, leading all hitters on Sunday with 14 kills.
- Laura Bieleski ranked second among all hitters with 13 kills and a .367 hitting percentage against the Demon Deacons.
- After recording one service ace in each of the last three matches, Vitoria Belfort recorded three of Tech’s seven service aces on Sunday, setting a new career high. She also established career highs in assists (2) and digs (3).
- Sunday’s contest saw Tech tie its fourth-highest kill total in a three-set match this season, matching its performances against Virginia and Southern Indiana.
- The Jackets improved to 43-12 overall and 21-10 at home against the Demon Deacons. Tech also extended its winning streak against Wake Forest to nine matches.
- Tech recorded its highest attack percentage since its home match against Syracuse in mid-October, hitting .344.
- Sunday afternoon’s sellout marked Georgia Tech volleyball’s 67th consecutive sellout at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
SET BY SET
Set 1 (GT 25 – WF 19)
Tech’s .385 hitting percentage, paired with holding Wake Forest to a .194 attack percentage, was more than enough to secure the 25-19 opening-set win. The Jackets got the jump on the Demon Deacons early, carrying a three-point lead into the media timeout (15-12). Wake Forest managed to tally five more points before calling a timeout in an attempt to slow Tech’s offense, but the Jackets continued to extend their lead, moving closer to set point (21-17). Both teams called one final timeout before Tech outscored the Demon Deacons 4-2 to close out the set. Zoe Humphrey paced Tech’s offense with an impressive .833 attack percentage and five kills. Soares opened the match with 10 of Tech’s 12 assists, while Mana Kaneko recorded half of the Jackets’ set-one digs, leading all players with four.
Set 2 (GT 25 – WF 18)
Despite Wake Forest forcing Tech to trail early in the second set, the Jackets battled back to take the lead before the media timeout and never looked back. The Demon Deacons held the advantage until Tech worked its way back to tie the set at 12-12 before taking a 13-12 lead that it maintained through the remainder of the frame. Coming out of the media timeout, Tech held Wake Forest to just five additional points while recording one service ace, two blocks and six kills, five of which belonged to Bennour. Bieleski bolstered the Jackets’ offense with five kills and a .500 attack percentage. Soares added another 10 assists, while Kaneko recorded five more digs. Defensively, Bennour had a hand in each of Tech’s three blocks, while Humphrey and Bianca Garibaldi contributed two and one block, respectively.
Set 3 (GT 25 – WF 14)
In the final set, the Jackets recorded their highest kill total of the match with 17, while holding the Demon Deacons to just six. For the third consecutive set, Tech was the first to reach 15 points, triggering the media timeout with a three-point advantage. Following the media timeout, the Jackets took control, outscoring Wake Forest 10-2, including a late seven-point run that brought Tech to match point. Bieleski finished the match with six kills in the final frame, while Bennour added four more. Both Garibaldi and Magda Kobaidze recorded three kills apiece, with Garibaldi posting a perfect 1.000 attack percentage and Kobaidze hitting .750. Soares recorded a match-high 14 assists in the final set, while Kobaidze paced all players defensively with nine digs.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets will hit the road and head out west to play Cal Friday, Nov. 13 and No. 23 Stanford Sunday, Nov. 14 both at 10 p.m. EST. Both matches will be available for streaming on ACCNX.
Single Match Tickets
Single match tickets are on sale for Tech’s final two home matches with tickets prices starting 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.