THE FLATS – No. 23 Georgia Tech volleyball put a stamp on the 2020-21 regular season with a 3-1 win over Duke for Senior Day in O’Keefe Gymnasium on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Blue Devils by a combined 28 points (75-47) in the first, second and fourth sets to claim each of the three sets for the victory.
Junior setter Matti McKissock orchestrated the offense with 46 assists, moving into ninth in program history in career assists with 2,706 assists totaled during her time on The Flats. Sophomore outside hitter Julia Bergmann spearheaded the Jacket attack with a season-high 22 kills, 11 digs, two aces and two total blocks for her eighth double double of the season.
Volleyball vs. Duke
April 3, 2021 (Danny Karnik)
How it Happened
Set one was tight early as the two sides traded blows up to an even 8-8 score line. Georgia Tech (13-4, 13-4 ACC) took four of the next six points before a four-point run thanks to a pair of kills from junior outside hitter Mariana Brambilla and another by fellow junior outside hitter Mikaila Dowd put the Jackets up, 16-10. Tech went on another four-point run shortly after that included a Brambilla kill to increase its lead to 20-11. Duke (9-13, 7-10) failed to surmount the lead as Georgia Tech took a 25-18 win in set one with a kill off the wrist of Bergmann.
In set two, Tech was once again the first to create separation up to a 10-6 lead with a four-point run by way of kills from sophomore middle blocker Erin Moss, Bergmann and an ace by Dowd. The Jackets kept that distance throughout the set one more four-point run with kills from Dowd, Brambilla and Bergmann furthered the lead to 23-14. Two final kills resulted in a 25-15 win for Georgia Tech in set two.
The third set was tight throughout as neither side created more than three points of separation up to an 18-15 Yellow Jacket advantage. Duke caught fire at that point, taking 10 of the next 12 points to win set three, 25-20.
Georgia Tech took control of the fourth set from the start, going on an eight-point run to lead 11-4. In that run, Bergmann tallied four straight kills and five of the eight points. After one Blue Devil point, the Jackets took six more points in a row including three more Bergmann kills to claim 14 of the last 15 points and lead 17-5. Tech closed out the set with a kill by Maddie Tippett for the 25-14 set win and 3-1 match win.
Game Notes
- Georgia Tech had a strong advantage over Duke in hitting percentage, coming away at .352 compared to Duke’s .228. The Jackets tallied 58 kills to the Blue Devils’ 46.
- Through Bergmann’s stellar 22 kill and 11 assist double double (eight on the year), the outside hitter picked up nine of her kills in the fourth set alone.
- Despite losing three matches this season, McKissock continues to bolster her Georgia Tech legacy as the reigning ACC Setter of the Year is now ninth in Yellow Jacket history in career assists after piling up 69 assists through seven sets on the weekend.
Up Next
Georgia Tech concludes the regular season with a 13-4 record in all matches including conference play. The Yellow Jackets await potential selection to the 2021 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship on Sunday to further the season. The selection show will be broadcast on ESPNU at 4 p.m. as 48 total teams (32 automatic qualifiers, 16 at-large bids) are selected.
Multimedia
Final home match of the season mood! 📸#poinTech /// #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/ml3ITh8jM8
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) April 3, 2021
S3 | "Piercing power from Erin Moss!"
GT – 13
Duke – 13WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/iK3GGFJPYF#poinTech /// #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/p0LVc1st4c
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) April 3, 2021
S4 | Mariana Brambilla starts the 4th set with a KILL!
GT – 1
DU – 0WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/iK3GGFJPYF pic.twitter.com/UCjQtIKWiz
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) April 3, 2021
S4 | Julia Bergmann 🎯
GT – 6
DU – 4WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/iK3GGFJPYF pic.twitter.com/xdKJELNBYU
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) April 3, 2021
S4 | Bergmann's SEVENTH kill of the set gives her TWENTY for the match!
GT – 15
DU – 5WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/iK3GGFJPYF#poinTech /// #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/b3nqN1Gi5x
— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) April 3, 2021
S4 | Maddie Tippett lays out to win it!!!
GT – 25
DU – 14#poinTech /// #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/YKqXpp96NZ— Georgia Tech Volleyball (@GTVolleyball) April 3, 2021
How's that for a winning point? 😎#NCAAVB x 🎥 @GTVolleyball pic.twitter.com/FQ3JsKadKp
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) April 4, 2021
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