No. 10 Georgia Tech Topples No. 3 Louisville

THE FLATS – No. 10 Georgia Tech volleyball (20-3, 11-2 ACC) secured its highest ranked home win in program history on Friday night, taking down No. 3 Louisville (20-3, 11-2 ACC) in four sets (26-24, 25-22, 17-25, 25-19) inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. Bianca Bertolino delivered a career-best seven aces while middle blockers Anna Boezi and DeAndra Pierce combined for 17 kills on .419 hitting to lead the Jackets to victory in front of yet another sold out crowd on The Flats.

QUICK HITS

• This is the highest ranked home win in program history and the second highest overall in program history (at No. 2 Pitt – 10/10/21)
• This is the sixth win over Top 10 opponent in program history. Four of the six wins have come in the last three seasons (at No. 2 Pitt, 2021 | vs. No. 10 BYU, 2022 | vs. No. 8 Penn State, 2023).
• Tech now owns three Top 5 victories: tonight, at No. 2 Pitt and at No. 5 Nebraska (2003)
• The Jackets have won two matches over Top 10 ranked opponents in the same season for the first time in program history.
• This is the 25th consecutive sellout at O’Keefe Gymnasium dating back to the 2021 season.
• Going beyond 2019’s NIVC title, Tech has won 99 of its last 122 matches (.811 winning pct.).
• Tech has achieved its third-straight 20-win season, the longest streak since 2006-09.
• Junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino delivered a career-best seven aces. Tied for the sixth most aces in a single match in program history and the second-most by a Jacket in an ACC match.
• She finished with seven kills, seven aces, 16 digs and a career-best five blocks in the win.
• Sophomore middle blocker Anna Boezi made a career-best eight kills on .375 hitting to go along with five blocks.
• She is averaging 1.21 blocks/set in her 10 starts this season.
• Junior middle blocker DeAndra Pierce delivered nine kills on a team-best .467 hitting. She has now recorded 15 kills on .522 hitting over her last two matches.
• Pierce and Boezi led a net front presence that resulted in 11.5 blocks, the most a Louisville opponent has earned this season.
• Senior outside hitter Tamara Otene recorded her team-leading 13^th double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 11 kills and 10 digs.
• Graduate right side Afedo Manyang delivered nine kills on .467 hitting as well. She, also, has been in tremendous form over her last two matches, posting 19 kills on .531 hitting.
• Senior libero Paola Pimentel recorded 12 digs. She has recorded double digit digs in 22 of her 23 matches this season.
• This is Tech’s first win over Louisville since 2016.
• Senior Bella D’Amico combined with freshman Heloise Soares for 38 assists as each setter posted 19.

Set By Set

Set 1 (GT, 26-24): The match began with an ace from Bertolino, followed by a block from Boezi and Mendes to put the Jackets in front, 4-1. Louisville wasted no time closing the gap, tying the match at 7-7. Both sides tried to pull away after that, with Tech going back in front, 13-10, only for the Cardinals to tie it back at 14-14. Louisville looked to have put the set on ice after that, going in front 21-16, and eventually 24-20, but a kill from Boezi put the ball in Bertolino’s hands at the service line. When the Jackets needed her most, Bertolino responded with five incredible serves, making aces at 23-24, 25-24 and eventually winning the set for the Jackets, 26-24, off her fourth ace of the set and third of the scoring run. Tech won the last six points of the set off of three Bertolino aces, two Boezi kills and an attack error from the Cardinals, seizing momentum, and sending the sellout crowd at O’Keefe into a frenzy.

Set 2 (GT, 25-22): Both teams showed why they’re ranked in the Top 10 in the second set, playing high level volleyball and fighting for every point. Neither side led by more than two points for the entirety of the set, until a kill from Manyang put the Jackets ahead, 24-21. Manyang would strike again a point later, putting the Jackets in front by two sets with a kill from Soares. Manyang was incredible in the second, making a team-best five kills on .833 hitting. Both D’Amico and Soares did a great job of distributing the ball throughout the white-knuckle set, posting 18 combined assists and helping six different Jackets register multiple kills. Passing was the name of the game in the second as both sides recorded side out percentages at 70% or better.

Set 3 (LOU, 25-17): With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals delivered a 10-3 scoring run in the middle of the third to bust it open, 18-11. The Jackets fought until the end, but Louisville staved off defeat with an eight-point set win. The Louisville block played a big factor in the set, making five blocks to hold the Jackets to -.037 hitting, the only set in which the Jackets hit below .250 as a team.

Set 4 (GT, 25-19): Tech ratcheted up its intensity at the service line in the fourth set, sending Louisville out of system enough times to get the offense back on track and pull off the upset. Once again, neither side could pull away early, until yet another 6-0 scoring run, with Bertolino at the line, shook the rafters in O’Keefe. She smashed two more aces in the run, to put the Jackets ahead, 16-10. With the lead in their back pocket, and 1200 Tech faithful behind them every point, the Jackets managed to keep Louisville at least four points away for the remainder of the set, eventually winning by six points. Pierce was the offensive catalyst in the fourth, pouring in four kills on .571 hitting and a block. Pimentel dominated on the back line, making six digs to go along with eight flawless serve receptions as Tech secured its greatest home win to-date.

UP NEXT
Georgia Tech will look to extend its winning streak to six matches on Sunday when the Jackets take on Notre Dame (10-11, 4-9 ACC) inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match will start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

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