No. 21 Jackets Host Georgia Tech Classic

Georgia Tech Notes | Oklahoma Notes | Mississippi State Notes

THE FLATS – No. 21 Georgia Tech volleyball (4-1) will come home to host the annual Georgia Tech Classic for its first regular season action on The Flats of 2021 in O’Keefe Gymnasium.

The Jackets welcome three blue bloods of the college sports world in Mississippi State (5-1), Indiana (5-1) and Oklahoma (3-3) to the tournament. Tech will face Mississippi State first at 7 p.m. Thursday followed by a 7 p.m. matchup with Indiana Friday and conclude competition by taking on Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Full Tournament Schedule

• Thursday, Sept. 9 | Indiana vs. Mississippi State | 11 a.m. | Live Stats
• Thursday, Sept. 9 | Mississippi State at No. 21 Georgia Tech | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | WREK 91.1 FM | Listen | Live Stats
• Friday, Sept. 10 | Oklahoma vs. Indiana | 11 a.m. | Live Stats
• Friday, Sept. 10 | Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma | 5 p.m. | Live Stats
• Friday, Sept. 10 | Indiana at No. 21 Georgia Tech | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | WREK 91.1 FM | Listen | Live Stats
• Sunday, Sept. 12 | Oklahoma at No. 21 Georgia Tech | 1 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | WREK 91.1 FM | Listen | Live Stats

Tickets

Adult Season – $55

Youth (ages 3-18)/Senior (55+) Season – $30

Adult Single Game – $6

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

Group Single Game (10+) – $2

Season tickets and single game tickets are now available. 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

Fans may park free of charge in the McCamish, East O’Keefe and Family Housing lots.

Storylines

• The Jackets most recently landed in 21^st in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll. The slot comes a week after jumping eight spots to No. 16 from their preseason ranking of No. 24, the highest jump within a week in program history. Since appearing in the Top 25 at No. 12 on Sept. 30, 2020, Georgia Tech has been listed in 25 straight top 25 polls to date.
• Going beyond 2019’s NIVC title, Tech has won 36 of its last 43 matches.
• Georgia Tech currently sits at 4-1 after splitting last weekend with Long Beach State (W, 3-1) and No. 16 UCLA (L, 3-1). Senior right-side hitter Mariana Brambilla and junior outside hitter Julia Bergmann were selected to the Long Beach State Tournament all-tournament team for their performances.
•  The Jackets opened the season with a 3-0 start that resulted in a UCF Challenge crown, including a season-opening win over No. 18 Penn State (previously No. 12). The win marked the highest ranked victory for Tech since the 2003 NCAA tournament, the first ranked triumph for the program since 2017 and the first win over the Nittany Lions in Georgia Tech history. For Penn State, the defeat marked its first nonconference loss outside top 10 since 2016.
• Amongst the conference, Georgia Tech is currently top five in five different categories – second in assists per set (13), third in digs per set (15.95), fourth in team attacks per set (35.05), fifth in blocks per set (2.47) and fifth in kills per set (13.89). The Jackets are also 20^th in the nation in assists per set and 30^th in the country in kills per set.
• Bergmann has racked up awards on a national scale this season being named AVCA Player of the Week, ACC Player of the Week and UCF Challenge MVP. 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 83 kills (4.37 per set), 56 digs, eight service aces and 11 total blocks (seven solo, four assisted).
• In the ACC, Bergmann currently leads the league in attacks per set (10.74) and is second in the conference in four different categories – kills per set (4.37), points (100), points per set (5.26) and total kills (83).
• On a national scale, Bergmann is currently 16^th in the NCAA in points per set and 28^th in the country kills per set.
• Freshman outside hitter Bianca Bertolino has staked her claim as the top freshman in the conference this season as she’s won ACC Player of the Week in both of the first two weeks of her collegiate career. The Argentinian also was selected to the UCF Challenge all-tournament team after week one.
• At the conference level, Bertolino currently ranks 10th in the league in both kills (64) and points (73.5). In individual matches, her 21 kills against Long Beach State are tied for the third most in a single match amongst the league this season.  In that same match, her .541 attack percentage is the sixth highest mark in the ACC with more kills than any other listing in the top 10.
• Senior setter Matti McKissock continues to climb in the Georgia Tech record books as she’s currently eighth in career assists in program history with 2,991 to date. This season, McKissock is currently second in the ACC and 14th in the nation in assists per set (11.06) along with fifth in the ACC in total assists (199).
• Senior libero Maddie Tippett recently eclipsed 1,000 career digs, tallying 1,009 to date.

Scouting Mississippi State

• The Bulldogs have gotten off to a 5-1 start this season after sweeping Gonzaga twice as well as McNeese State and Louisiana Monroe. Their lone loss came to Houston on the road, 3-2.
• Mississippi State is currently top three in the SEC in seven different categories – assists per set (13.19), digs per set (14.9), kills per set (14.86), attacks per set (35.43), digs (313), kills (312) and attacks (744).
• The Bulldogs are among the nation’s best in kills per set, currently placing fifth in the NCAA and leading the SEC, along with assists per set ranking 16^th in the country and second in their conference.
• On an individual level, freshman middle blocker Sania Petties holds the strongest stat as she’s currently fourth in the SEC and 25^th in the NCAA with a 0.449 hitting percentage.

Scouting Indiana

• The Hoosiers head to The Flats with a 5-1 record to date after sweeping UIC, Butler and Purdue Fort Wayne while picking up five-set wins over Bowling Green and Southeast Missouri State. Their sole loss came in five sets at the hands of Western Michigan.
• Indiana leads a traditional powerhouse conference in the Big Ten in five separate categories – assists (272), digs (335), kills (286), attacks (783) and blocks (71).
• The Hoosiers enter the tournament boasting the third-most blocks in the country to date, as well as ranking 13^th in the country in blocks per set (2.96).
• Individually, the Hoosiers hold three top-five marks in the Big Ten. Freshman outside hitter Mady Saris currently leads the league in attacks (225) and is fifth in the conference in points (84.5) while junior defensive specialist Paula Cerame ranks third in the Big Ten in digs (99).

Scouting Oklahoma

• The Sooners come into the tournament sitting at 3-3 this season. After a rocky 0-3 start with losses to Oregon State (3-2), Lipscomb (3-1) and Houston (3-2) at home in the Oklahoma Invitational, Boomer Sooner rallied back the following weekend to get back to .500 with a 3-1 win over Air Force and sweeps of Seattle and Gonzaga.
• Oklahoma has been among the Big 12’s best on paper, leading the conference in three different categories – assists (276), kills (301) and blocks (68). The Sooners are top three in five more categories – blocks per set (2.83), opponent hitting percentage (.161), digs (308), aces (25) and attacks (783).
• The Sooners are one of the top teams in the nation when it comes to blocks, currently ranking fifth in the country in total blocks and 22^nd in the NCAA in blocks per set.
• Oklahoma also holds the Big 12 lead in six different individual categories.
• Freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Megan Wilson owns three of those marks, leading the conference in points (115), attacks (251) and kills (103). Wilson is also second in kills per set (4.29) and points per set (4.79) in the Big 12. Those marks stack up well across the country as she ranks 15^th in points, 35^th in attacks, 11^th in kills, 33^rd in kills per set and 35^th in points per set.
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Savannah Davison also leads the league in attacks per set (10.94).
• Freshman setter Peyton Dunn has led the Big 12 in assists with 233 to date, which places her 22^nd in the NCAA as well.
• Redshirt senior middle blocker Paige Anderson anchors Oklahoma defensively as she tops the conference and places 25^th in the nation in blocks with 30.
• Also assisting defensively has been freshman libero Callie Kemohah, who’s second in the Big 12 in digs with 90 to date.

Up Next

The Jackets will hit the road again for a neutral site matchup with Arkansas Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. ET in Raleigh, N.C. before returning for Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate with Georgia Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. ET in O’Keefe Gymnasium.

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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