No. 14 Tech Gears up for No. 1 Louisville

THE FLATS – No. 14 Georgia Tech volleyball (21-3, 12-2 ACC) is set for a highly anticipated rematch with No. 1 Louisville (23-0, 13-0 ACC) on the road on Friday at 7 p.m. in Louisville, Ky. The clash between two of the ACC’s best will mark Tech’s first showdown with a No. 1 ranked team since facing USC in 2004.

Coverage

• Friday, Nov.12 | No. 14 Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 Louisville | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | Live Stats

Storylines

• Tech was marked No. 14 for the third consecutive time in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, remaining in the top 15 for the fourth straight week.
• Since appearing in the Top 25 at No. 12 on Sept. 30, 2020, Georgia Tech has been listed in 33 straight top 25 polls to date.
• The NCAA Selection Committee recently released its first rankings of the season for matches played through Oct. 27, with Tech cracking the top 10 coming in at No. 9.
• The Yellow Jackets moved up to No. 6 in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index, their highest rank of the season.
• Tech holds its position amongst the country’s best following yet another undefeated ACC weekend in which the Jackets downed both Miami and NC State, 3-1.
• Tech swept this week’s ACC awards as junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann was named ACC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week while freshman outside hitter Bianca Bertolino was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Week. Bergmann now owns seven career ACC weekly honors.
• Bergmann becomes the first student-athlete in the conference to receive ACC Player of the Week four times in a season since 2015, and Bertolino currently leads the league in ACC Freshman of the Week honors with four.
• The Jackets have now racked up 10 ACC weekly awards on the year, the most in program history on record. The staggering tally leads the league this season as senior outside hitter Mariana Brambilla also owns two ACC Player of the Week honors.
• Georgia Tech has had at least one recipient of an ACC weekly award in seven of the 10 weeks the conference has recognized winners this season.
• Georgia Tech has now won 10 consecutive matches in ACC play.
• Tech is a perfect 9-0 in true road matches this season, going 7-0 away from The Flats in ACC play.
• The nine consecutive true road wins mark the best start on the road in program history.
• Going beyond 2019’s NIVC title, Tech has won 53 of its last 62 matches.
• The Jackets have won 32 of their last 36 matches on The Flats in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
• Georgia Tech boasts some of the best statistical marks in the country, leading the nation in both kills per set (15.06) and assists per set (13.72). The Jackets are also currently fourth in the NCAA and second in the ACC in hitting percentage (0.298).
• Earlier this season, the Jackets made history by handing No. 3 Pitt (previously No. 2) its first loss of the season in five sets.
• Georgia Tech’s triumph over Pitt marked the highest ranked win and the second top-five victory in program history. The Yellow Jackets’ previous highest ranked victory also came on the road in five sets over No. 5 Nebraska in 2003.
• Bergmann has put together a decorated season to date, racking up awards on a national scale this season being named AVCA Player of the Week, ACC Player of the Week four times, UCF Challenge MVP and to three all-tournament teams. Her AVCA honor as the best player in the nation for the week marked the first time a Yellow Jacket has received the award since Kele Eveland on Sep. 15, 2003.
• Bergmann’s numbers back up her accolades as she’s among the nation’s best in multiple categories. To date, the veteran has led the Jacket attack with 405 kills (4.71 per set) and 29 service aces along with pitching in on the defensive end with 225 digs and 49 total blocks (20 solo, 29 assisted). She also recently eclipsed 1,000 career kills, owning 1,101 to date.
• On a national scale, those marks currently place her 10^th in the country in points per set (5.45) and 11^th in the nation in kills per set (4.71), leading the ACC in both categories. Other notable numbers for the powerful outside hitter include ranking second in the ACC and 16^th in the NCAA in both points (468.5) and kills (405).
• As Bergmann has spearheaded the Jacket attack, some of her biggest performances have come in the biggest moments as she earned her AVCA weekly honor and first ACC Player of the Week on the year after Tech downed No. 14 Penn State (previously No. 12) and picked up her second ACC Player of the Week recognition after the Jackets’ historic win over No. 3 Pitt (previously No. 2).
• In one of Tech’s biggest wins in program history, the heavy hitter piled up 24 kills at a solid .386 clip, including a pair of aces as well as six digs and four total blocks (one solo, three assisted) in the triumph over Pitt.
• The week before, she compiled 30 kills against Notre Dame, the highest total by not only any Yellow Jacket this season, but also any player in the ACC to date.
• Along with Bergmann, Bertolino has staked her claim as one of the top freshmen in the conference this season as she won ACC Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks for her first two weeks of her collegiate career and has since collected her third and fourth. The Argentinian also was selected to two all-tournament teams in nonconference play and is up to seven double doubles this year.
• Senior setter Matti McKissock continues to climb in the Georgia Tech record books as she moved up to third in career assists in program history against NC State, totaling 3,776 to date. Now the program leader during the 25-point rally scoring era, McKissock leads the ACC and is third in the NCAA with 11.58 assists per set while also leading the conference and ranking 16^th in the nation in total assists with 984.
• Brambilla has earned a pair of ACC Player of the Week honors this season. The Brazilian owns four career ACC Player of the Week honors and six total ACC weekly awards after being tabbed ACC Freshman of the Week twice in her first season on The Flats. The explosive right-side hitter has skyrocketed into the top 10 in program history in career kills, currently ranking ninth with 1,459 to date. Currently, she ranks third in the ACC in kills per set (4.17) and points per set (4.67).

Series History

• Tech currently trails Louisville 9-3 in the all-time series. The Jackets’ last win over the Cardinals came at home in 2016. The White and Gold lead the series 3-2 in home matches.

Scouting Louisville

• The Cardinals come into the contest with a perfect 23-0 overall record, going 13-0 in ACC play. The first No. 1 team in ACC history has been pushed to five sets by Arizona State (RV), No. 7 Kentucky (previously No. 8) and most recently No. 3 Pitt (previously No. 4).
• Louisville has been dominant on both sides of the net, leading the league in both hitting percentage (0.304) and opponent hitting percentage (0.142). The Cardinals also rank fourth in the nation in hitting percentage and ninth in the country in opponent hitting percentage.
• Graduate senior middle blocker Anna Stevenson is most efficient on the attack with a 0.446 hitting percentage, good for sixth in the NCAA while leading the league.
• Junior middle blocker Amaya Tillman anchors the defense with 1.39 blocks per set, which ranks third in the ACC and 10^th in the NCAA. Tillman also owns 104 total blocks to rank third in the ACC. Offensively, she’s averaged a 0.391 hitting percentage to place third in the ACC and 28^th in the NCAA.
• Graduate senior setter Tori Dilfer has set up the Cardinal offense, currently ranking third in the ACC and 27^th in the NCAA in assists per set (10.68).

Up Next

Georgia Tech will return home for its second straight top-five matchup, facing No. 3 Pitt for the second time this season on Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. Coverage information will be provided here.

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