No. 16 Tech Closes Weekend Hosting Duke

THE FLATS – No. 16 Georgia Tech volleyball (14-3, 5-2 ACC) will return home to wrap up the weekend by hosting Duke (11-6, 2-4 ACC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match will be televised on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network, Bally Sports South in Atlanta.

Coverage

• Sunday, Oct. 17 | No. 16 Georgia Tech vs. Duke | 2 p.m. | ACC RSN: Bally Sports South | Watch | Live Stats

Tickets

Adult Single Game – $6

Youth (ages 3-18)/Senior (55+) Single Game – $4

Group Single Game (10+) – $2

Limited single game tickets remain for the match. Secure your tickets online HERE. If you need assistance, the Georgia Tech Ticket Office may be reached by phone at 888.TECH.TIX, The Georgia Tech Ticket Office is open Monday – Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 

Full capacity is once again allowed inside O’Keefe Gymnasium, and seating is general admission. Students with a Buzz Card will be permitted free of charge.

Parking

The McCamish (E65), East O’Keefe (E63) and Family Housing (E66) lots will be open to the public. Fans may park free of charge in any of the aforementioned lots. With Georgia Tech softball hosting North Georgia at noon on Sunday using the same lots, congestion is possible.

Think Pink

Sunday’s match will represent Georgia Tech’s Think Pink match. Players and staff will don pink for the match in support of breast cancer awareness, and fans are encouraged to also wear pink in support of the initiative.

Storylines

• Tech moved up two spots in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll to tie its highest mark of the season at No. 16 following a historic weekend in which the Jackets swept ACC foe Virginia before handing No. 4 Pitt (previously No. 2) its first loss of the season in five sets. The Yellow Jackets swept Clemson for another ACC victory on Wednesday.
• 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.
• Since appearing in the Top 25 at No. 12 on Sept. 30, 2020, Georgia Tech has been listed in 30 straight top 25 polls to date.
• Going beyond 2019’s NIVC title, Tech has won 46 of its last 55 matches.
• The Yellow Jackets have won 27 of their last 31 matches on The Flats in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
• Georgia Tech boasts some of the best statistical marks in the nation to date, ranking third in the country in kills per set (14.57) and seventh in the NCAA in assists per set (13.26) while leading the ACC in both categories.
• Following last weekend’s competition, junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann earned her second ACC Player of the Week honor of the season.
• The recognition marked Bergmann’s third career ACC Player of the Week honor and fifth total Atlantic Coast Conference weekly award after being tabbed ACC Freshman of the Week twice in her first season on The Flats.
• Bergmann spearheaded the Tech attack to receive the honor, piling up 42 kills (5.25 per set) at a robust .410 clip including a pair of aces along with 15 digs and five total blocks (one solo, four assisted) through the weekend.
• 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.
• Bergmann’s solid weekend follows up on last week’s competition in which 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.
• The veteran led the team once again against Clemson with 14 kills at a .379 clip.
• Bergmann has racked up awards on a national scale this season being named AVCA Player of the Week, ACC Player of the Week twice, 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 280 kills (4.59 per set) and 22 service aces along with pitching in on the defensive end with 166 digs and 32 total blocks (16 solo, 16 assisted).
• On a national scale, those marks currently place her 9^th in the country in points per set (5.34), 12^th in the nation in kills per set (4.59), 16^th in the NCAA in points (326) and 20^th across the land in kills (280), leading the ACC in all categories.
• Freshman outside hitter Bianca 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. 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 sixth in career assists in program history against Clemson, totaling with 3,456 to date. In the 25-point rally scoring era, that mark places her second in Yellow Jacket history. This season, McKissock leads the ACC and is 14th in the NCAA with 11.07 assists per set while also leading the conference in total assists with 664.

Series History

• Tech trails Duke 46-24 in the all-time series.
• As of late, the Jackets have won the last three contests, downing the Blue Devils 3-1 on the road in 2018 before sweeping the on The Flats in 2019 and winning 3-1 in O’Keefe to close out the regular season last spring.
• Georgia Tech’s most successful stretch against Duke came from 2002-04 as the Jackets won six consecutive matches, including sweeps in the last four contests.

Scouting Duke

• The Blue Devils enter the weekend at 11-6 overall, going 2-4 in ACC play. Duke was most recently topped by Florida State, 3-1, and swept by Miami. The Blue Devils’ ACC wins came in the form of sweeps over Boston College at home and Virginia on the road.
• Duke’s biggest strength amongst the conference is from the service line, leading the ACC in aces per set (1.68) and ranking fourth in the league in total aces (99).
• Individually, senior libero Mackenzie Cole has anchored the Blue Devil defense, leading the ACC with 4.32 digs per set and ranking fourth in the conference in total digs (255).
• Junior outside hitter Gracie Johnson leads Duke’s efforts from the service line, ranking fifth in the ACC in aces per set (0.40) and fourth in the league in total aces (23).
• Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Ade Owokoniran has been Due’s most productive attacker with 168 kills (3.23 per set) this season.
• Sophomore middle blocker Georgia Stavrinides has aided Cole defensively with 36 total blocks (8 solo, 28 assisted).

Up Next

Georgia Tech will head north for another ACC weekend on the road, first traveling to Syracuse to take on the Orange on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. before concluding the weekend at Boston College on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. against the Eagles. Coverage information will be provided here.

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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