DURHAM, N.C. – No. 16 Georgia Tech volleyball (16-4, 8-3 ACC) showed resiliency on Friday night in Durham, N.C. as the Yellow Jackets extended their ACC streak to seven after beating Duke (8-14, 4-7 ACC) in five sets. Tamara Otene (27 kills/21 digs) and Luanna Emiliano (37 assists/20 digs) made history with their 20/20 double-doubles against Duke, which was the first time in program history two Yellow Jackets have achieved the feat in the same match.
QUICK HITS
- Otene stands as the only player in the modern scoring era with multiple 20/20 double-doubles is now tied for second-most in program history (3 and is one away from tying Cris Omiecinski (1992-95) for the most 20/20 double-doubles, all-time.
- The senior tied her career-high for kills (27) previously set during her 2021 season played at Illinois State.
- Her 27 kills against the Blue Devils are the most kills in a single match by a Yellow Jacket so far this season.
- Emiliano had recorded a double-double in six of the Yellow Jackets’ last seven contests.
- Sofia Velez has now recorded 10 or more digs in 95 of her 99 collegiate matches and has recorded 10 or more digs in the last eight consecutive matches, after recording 27 against Duke.
- Her 27 digs against Duke are now Velez’s new career-high for digs, surpassing her previous high of 23 set against Clemson. The 27 digs are also the most digs in a single match by a Yellow Jacket so far this season.
- Anna Boezi saw time in her fifth match of the season and had a season-high three kills against the Blue Devils.
- Bianca Bertolino earned her 11th double-double of the season, 28th of her career, with the 17 kills and 11 digs she had on Friday.
- As a team, Tech posted a season-high 226 attempts and a season-high 101 digs against Duke.
- The last time Georgia Tech and Duke went to five sets was back in 2012, which resulted in a 3-2 road loss for the Yellow Jackets.
- Georgia Tech’s seven-game ACC win streak is the longest ACC win-streak for the program since the 10-game win streak during the 2021 season.
VB vs Duke
Photos by Tyler Rover
SET BY SET
Set 1 (GT 25 – DUKE 20)
Georgia Tech and Duke saw a close set one as both teams exchanged points and saw 10 lead changes until the teams were tied up at 15 apiece. Tech pieced together a three-point run which was enough distance from Duke to hold the lead through to match point. The Yellow Jackets’ .239 hitting percentage helped secure the set one win, as the Blue Devils sat with a .098. Otene was dominant on offense from the beginning, recording nine of Tech’s 15 kills in set one. Logan Wiley and Bertolino posted three kills apiece while Liv Mogridge got one on the board as well.
Set 2 (GT 18- DUKE 25)
In set two, the Blue Devils were able to improve their hitting percentage to .300, which Georgia Tech struggled to contain. The Blue Devils recorded 17 kills compared to the Yellow Jackets’ 11, but it was Tech that continued to keep its errors lower than Duke’s (5-4). Otene contributed nearly half of Tech’s kills (5/11) for the second straight set.
Set 3 (GT 25 – DUKE 20)
Tech found its rhythm once again in set three, getting ahead quickly before Duke tied the game 7-7. The Yellow Jackets remained in control through the rest of set three. Despite Duke recording one more kill than Tech in set three (12-11), the Jackets saw four services aces, three of which were from Emiliano and one from Bertolino. Boezi saw her first action of the match in set three and she had one kill just before match point.
Set 4 (GT 21 – DUKE 25)
Despite a close set four, the Yellow Jackets came up short 25-21, resulting in the Blue Devils pushing the match to a fifth and final set. Both teams saw 14 kills respectively, but it was Duke that had the edge in hitting percentage. Leia Harper recorded her first kill of the match in set four while Boezi recorded another three. Set four was the only set against Duke that Georgia Tech gave up more errors than their opponent (7-5).
Set 5 (GT 16 – DUKE 14)
Set five was a whirlwind as Tech kept the match tight with Duke until the Blue Devils went on a seven-point scoring run after the match was tied 3-3. Three kills from Otene, two kills from Mogridge, one kill from Bertolino, and two Blue Devil errors resulted once again in a tied match (11-11). Duke strung together three final points to near match point, but it was Georgia Tech one final five-point scoring run to secure the 16-14 finish.
UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets remain in North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels of UNC Sunday at 12 pm. Sunday’s match will be live streamed on ACC Network Extra.
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