THE FLATS – No. 13 Georgia Tech volleyball (15-3, 6-2 ACC) finishes up its four-match homestand this weekend with a pair of matches against Duke (12-7, 3-5 ACC) and North Carolina (9-8, 3-5 ACC) inside O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Coverage
- Friday, Oct. 20 | No. 13 Georgia Tech vs. Duke | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | Live Stats
- Sunday, Oct. 22 | No. 13 Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina | 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’s match is Alumnae Day! We will have a special on-court recognition for our Georgia Tech volleyball alumnae between the second and third sets. On Sunday, members of the team have invited select Georgia Tech professors to the match to celebrate Professor Appreciation Day with an on-court ceremony between the first and second sets.
Storylines
- The Jackets are ranked No. 13 in the latest AVCA DI Coaches’ Poll. That’s now 63 straight in the AVCA’s top 25.
- Tech is currently No. 12 in the NCAA RPI.
- Coach Michelle Collier is into her 10th season leading the Jackets, currently the second winningest coach in program history with 188 victories.
- Tech owns five total ACC weekly awards this season: Heloise Soares’ ACC Freshman of the Week, senior outside hitter Tamara Otene’s ACC Offensive Player of the Week, freshman right side hitter Larissa Mendes’ two ACC Co-Freshman of the Week awards and senior libero Paola Pimentel’s ACC Defensive Player of the Week.
- Going beyond 2019’s NIVC title, Tech has won 94 of its last 117 matches (.803 winning pct.).
- The Yellow Jackets boast one of the top defenses in the nation, leading the ACC with 15.56 digs/set, more than a full dig over 2nd place (BC – 14.42).
- Tech’s 15.56 digs/set is the second highest among Power 5 defenses, behind only Kansas (16.00).
- Junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino has been a weapon from the service line with 42 aces to top the ACC and land fifth in the NCAA. The Argentinian also leads the league and places fourth in the nation in aces per set (0.62).
- Bertolino is one of nine players in Division I with over 40 aces this season and one of two in the Power 5 (Camryn Haworth – Indiana).
- Pimentel became the 7th Jacket to join the 1,000-dig club during the modern scoring era, collecting a career-best 29 digs vs. Florida St. She reached the milestone in less than three full seasons, averaging 3.59 digs/set along the way, on pace for the second highest average in program history – behind London Ackermann (2013-16: 3.98 digs/set).
- Freshman setter Heloise Soares has been very effective since taking over sole setting responsibilities at Virginia (Oct. 8). The Brazilian setter is averaging 10.15 assists/set in her last three starts, including 59 assists vs Florida State (Oct. 13), the most assists in a match by a GT freshman in the modern scoring era (since 2008).
- Six Jackets come from outside the United States with International players accounting for 82% of the teams digs (868), 75.6% of the aces (87), 69.7% of the kills (650), 45% of the assists (382) and 44.8% of the blocks up to this point in the season.
Series Notes: vs. Duke
- This will be the 73rd all-time meeting between GT and Duke.
- Georgia Tech trails the all-time series, 26-46. Despite that, the Jackets have won the last five meetings and seven of the past nine dating back to the 2015 season.
- Tech is 16-19 at home throughout the series with a three-match winning streak dating back to 2017 on the line.
Series Notes: vs. North Carolina
- Sunday will be the 69th all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and UNC.
- The Tar Heels lead the series 38-30. Recently, the Jackets have been catching up, winning the last four meetings and five of the last six dating back to the 2017 season.
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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