THE FLATS – No. 10 Georgia Tech volleyball (19-3, 10-2 ACC) faces its biggest challenge of the season this weekend, hosting No. 3 Louisville (20-2, 11-1 ACC) and Notre Dame (10-10, 4-8 ACC) inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match against Louisville, on Friday, will be the sixth Top 10 battle in program history and the first time that both ACC power programs will meet when both are ranked in the AVCA Top 10.
Coverage
- Friday, Nov. 3 | No. 10 Georgia Tech vs. No. 3 Louisville | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | Live Stats
- Sunday, Nov. 5 | No. 10 Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame | 1 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | Live Stats
Parking
Standard parking will be available in the McCamish, East O’Keefe and Family Housing lots.
Promotions
Friday: the first 1,000 fans will receive white poms to cheer on the Jackets in their match against Louisville.
Sunday: Stick around after the match for autographs
Storylines
- The Jackets are ranked No. 10 in the latest AVCA DI Coaches’ Poll. Returning to the Top 10 for the 32nd week in program history and the second time this season (Week 3). The ranking marks 65 straight weeks in the AVCA Top 25.
- Tech leads the ACC with 5 players recognized in the weekly awards: Bianca Bertolino (Offensive Player of the Week-10/23), Paola Pimentel (Defensive Player of the Week-10/23 and 9/4), Larissa Mendes (Freshman of the Week-9/4 and 9/11), Tamara Otene (Offensive Player of the Week-9/25) and Heloise Soares (Freshman of the Week-10/2).
- The Yellow Jackets boast one of the top defenses in the nation, leading the ACC with 15.48 digs/set, more than a full dig over 2nd place (BC – 14.29).
- Tech’s 15.48 digs/set is the second highest among Power 5 defenses, behind only Kansas (15.89).
- Otene has made 261 digs this season, the second most by a Power 5 hitter and the most among pins in the ACC.
- Junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino has been a weapon from the service line with 49 aces to top the ACC and land 6th in the NCAA. The Argentinian leads the league and is 6th in the nation in aces per set (0.58).
- Bertolino is one ace away from becoming just the 5th Jacket this century to reach 50 aces in a season
- Pimentel has been leading the Tech back row with 4.46 digs/set this year, the 2nd most in the ACC and the sixth most among Power 5 liberos. The Rio de Janeiro native becomes the first Tech player with three straight 300 dig seasons since the program’s all-time digs leader, London Ackermann (2013-16).
- Six Jackets come from outside the United States. International players accounting for 80.8% of the teams digs (1051), 74.1% of the aces (106), 70.2% of the kills (816), 46.4% of the assists (492) and 42.4% of the blocks (68.5) up to this point in the season.
- Georgia Tech owns five top-10 regular season victories in its history. A win over #3 Louisville would be the highest ranked home win in program history and the second highest-ranked win overall (at No. 2 Pitt – 10/10/21)
- Otene and Bertolino both finished tied for the most kills in the ACC over the course of October, making 142 each.
- Sophomore middle blocker Anna Boezi stepped into the starting lineup for the month of October, helping the Jackets to seven wins throughout the month by averaging 1.20 blocks/set, the fifth most in the ACC.
Series Notes: vs. Louisville
- This will be the 19th all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and Louisville and the first time in which both teams are ranked inside the Top 10.
- The Jackets are looking for their first win in the series since 2016.
- Tech has won at least one set against the Cardinals in each of the last three meetings, including an epic five-set match inside O’Keefe last season.
Series Notes: vs. Notre Dame
- Sunday will be the 15th meeting between the two schools.
- Georgia Tech leads the series, 8-6, with a 7-4 record under Coach Michelle Collier.
- Tech took the last meeting (Sept. 30, 2022) at Notre Dame. The Jackets are looking for their first win over Notre Dame in Atlanta since 2019.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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