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No. 13 Jackets Quell Demon Deacons

THE FLATS — No. 13 Georgia Tech volleyball (8-2, 1-0 ACC) swept Wake Forest (8-4, 0-1 ACC) for its first conference win and coach Michelle Collier’s 200th career win on Friday night in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The White and Gold never trailed throughout the match’s entirety and were only tied at 2-2 early in the first set.

The Yellow Jackets used an emphatic finish to claim the first set, but swarmed the Demon Deacons in the next two sets, nearly doubling them for a combined 50-26 total.

In the White and Gold’s sixth sweep of the season, Tech outmatched Wake Forest in nearly every major category. Most notably holding the Demon Deacons to nearly 0 in hitting percentage, the Yellow Jackets held the advantage in kills (39-25), assists (38-25), hitting percentage (.277-.075) and digs (47-34).

Georgia Tech fielded a balanced attack on the night as four Yellow Jackets finished with eight or more kills, two of which maintained hitting percentages over .400 in senior middle blocker Erin Moss (.412) and junior outside hitter Tamara Otene (.571). Otene finished with nine digs to go with her eight kills, while Moss led the team with three blocks. Other standouts included senior libero Paola Pimentel with a match-high 17 digs along with junior setter Bella D’Amico orchestrating the offense with 32 assists.

Senior outside hitter Julia Bergmann also made an impact with eight kills, 10 digs and a season-high four aces. With those aces, the Brazilian bomber moved into sixth in program history with 145 career aces, surpassing Margaret Gales (1986-89) with 143.

How it Happened

The Yellow Jackets created initial separation in the first set, using a four-point run to skip in front, 10-4. The Demon Deacons managed to draw back within a point to trail 13-12, but the White and Gold used an identical run to widen the gap once more, 17-12. Wake Forest bounced back again to cut the Yellow Jacket lead to two at 18-16, but Tech would pull away one final time, taking seven of the last eight points to put a stamp on a 25-17 first set win closed out by Bergmann’s third ace of the set.

The Jackets rolled into the second set, controlling the Demon Deacons to build up a double-digit lead at 14-4. Tech maintained its double-digit distance from then on, finishing with the highest lead of the set as Bergmann’s fourth ace handed the White and Gold a 25-11 set two victory.

Georgia Tech paced ahead yet again in the third set as graduate middle blocker Breland Morrissette’s third ace of the day capped a three-point burst to move the Jackets in front, 10-6. Tech continued to keep its distance, later taking five points out of six opportunities to push further ahead, 20-12. The White and Gold would close out the match in the same fashion, claiming five of the final six points to secure a double-digit victory in set three, 25-15. The sweep becomes the first of the season in conference play for the Jackets.

Up Next

Georgia Tech will wrap up its first ACC weekend hosting Virginia Tech (8-4, 1-0 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

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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 Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.   

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