THE FLATS – No. 15 Georgia Tech volleyball (20-5, 12-4 ACC) advanced to 12-4 in conference play after sweeping Boston College (12-16, 5-11 ACC) on Sunday afternoon. Senior Bianca Bertolino made history in Sunday’s match as her three services aces against the Eagles earned her the modern scoring era record for career aces (167).
QUICK HITS
- Bertolino replaces Julia Bergmann’s record for career aces (164) which Bergmann set between the 2019-2022 seasons.
- Her three aces are accompanied by 14 kills and 13 digs, for Bertolino’s 14th double-double of the season
- Tamara Otene led Georgia Tech on offense with 17 kills, which was her 10th game of the season recording 15+ kills.
- Otene’s 17 kills bring her to 947 kills as a Yellow Jacket, bringing her closer to the 1,000-kill club while in White & Gold.
- Liv Mogridge helped lead the Yellow Jackets’ defensive effort as she recorded half of Tech’s blocks (4/8).
- Sofia Velez has now recorded 10 or more digs in 99 of her 104 collegiate matches after recording 16 against Boston College.
- Her two service aces Sunday were the second time this season Velez has recorded multiple aces.
- Logan Wiley had her third game of the season with multiple aces as well with the two she recorded.
- Luanna Emiliano had a solid finish to the week against the Eagles, recording 80% of Tech’s assists (32/40).
- Emiliano now boasts a 9.22 assist per set average and has collected 30+ assists in eight of Tech’s last nine contests.
- This was the 42nd consecutive sold out match at O’Keefe Gymnasium, a streak dating back to the 2021 season.
- The Yellow Jackets extend their winning streak within the walls of O’Keefe Gymnasium to seven.
- Tech secured its 10th home sweep of the season with the sweep on Sunday.
- Sunday saw Tech record the most attempts in a three-set match this season (127).
- Georgia Tech recorded eight services aces as a team and for the first time this season as well as recorded its lowest number of service errors all season (2).
- The Yellow Jackets showed exceptional execution in Sunday’s match as they did not have a single receiving error and had their lowest number of service errors all season (2).
VB vs Boston College
Photos by Danny Karnik
SET BY SET
Set 1 (GT 25 – BC 17)
Set one of the day saw a back-and-forth brawl for the lead, including seeing the score tied 11 times and five lead exchanges. The score remained deadlocked through almost half of the match (13-13), until a Boston College service error and a kill from DeAndra Pierce provided Tech with a small lead. The Yellow Jackets took advantage of the lead and were able to start piecing together more scoring runs and reach a set-high six-point lead before kills from Otene and Mogridge set Tech up for set point just before Wiley recorded her first service ace of the match. Boston College held a .005 hitting percentage over Tech in set one, but the Yellow Jackets outperformed the Eagles as far as kills (18-14), service aces (2-0), digs (14-12), and blocks (4-2).
Set 2 (GT 25 – BC 15)
Tech was put on its heels to start set two as Boston College stole the first three points of the match. A kill from Mogridge would serve as a powder keg for Tech’s offense and send the hosting team on a six-point run to take control of the set, 8-5. With the Yellow Jackets holding a .258 hitting percentage compared to the Eagles’ .077 hitting percentage, Tech was able to coast through the remainder of the second set and hold Boston College to only six kills. Set two saw Otene with nearly half of Tech’s total kills (7/16) while Bertolino (5) and Logan Wiley (3) also recorded multiple kills in set two. Bertolino and Velez worked side by side to lead the team in digs with five respectively. Emiliano had her first set of the match with double-digit assists, recording 13 of Tech’s 15 set two assists.
Set 3 (GT 25 – BC 22)
With the game on the line, set three was similar to set one as Georgia Tech and Boston College traded off with the lead seven times and saw a tie game 12 times. Bertolino (5), Otene (4), and Pierce (3) led the Yellow Jackets on offense in set three while Wiley and Mogridge chipped in one apiece for Tech’s 14 total set three kills. Emiliano saw her second straight set of the game with double-digit assists, recording 10 of Tech’s 11 set three assists. Service aces from Velez, Bertolino, and Wiley along with no receiving errors helped the Yellow Jackets edge out the Eagles to pull off the sweep.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets head south to play No. 22 Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before finishing the week in Coral Gables, Fla. against Miami on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and 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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