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No. 24 Jackets Swarm No. 12 Nittany Lions

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ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 24 Georgia Tech volleyball opened the season with a 3-1 statement win over No. 12 Penn State to kick off the UCF Challenge on Saturday. The win marked the highest ranked victory for Tech since 2003, when the ACC Champion Jackets downed No. 8 Cal 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Yellow Jackets’ most recent ranked victory came in the form of a 3-1 win over No. 17 Michigan State in 2017.

Senior Mariana Brambilla was the engine for the Jackets through the match as she led both sides with 21 kills to go with nine digs and a pair of block assists. Serving as the other focal point of the attack was junior Julia Bergmann, who tallied 16 kills and nine digs. Senior Matti McKissock was a weapon on offense and defense as she orchestrated the offense to pile up a match-high 42 assists and led the match with 16 digs for a double double. With McKissock’s 42 assists, the setter moved into eighth in Georgia Tech history in career assists, currently boasting 2,834.

Volleyball vs. No. 12 Penn State

Aug. 27, 2021 (Conor Kvatek)

How it Happened

In a tight first set that included eight deadlocks, neither side led or trailed by more than two points until the Jackets broke through with a five-point run including kills by Bergmann and Brambilla and a pair of team blocks to lead 20-16. From there, the two sides traded blows until Tech took three of the final four points, capped by a kill from junior Erin Moss to clinch the set, 25-20.

The Yellow Jackets took control earlier in the second set, going on a six-point run fueled once again by Brambilla and Bergmann up to a 12-5 lead. Bergmann shortly after pinpointed a pair of aces as part of a three-point run to push Georgia Tech ahead 15-9. The Nittany Lions were unable to make up any ground from there as the Jackets cruised to a 25-16 win.

Penn State battled back in the third set, taking six of the first seven points. Tech managed to draw within three at a tally of 10-7, but the Nittany Lions kept their distance on the way to a 25-17 set win.

Much like the first set, the fourth set was tight most of the way with nine tie scores. As the two sides battled it out, Georgia Tech strung together a pair of three-point runs to move ahead 17-14 initially and 21-16 shortly after thanks to team blocks and kills by Brambilla, senior Breland Morrissette and freshman Bianca Bertolino. The Nittany Lions would get back within three, but more kills by Brambilla and Bertolino set up and emphatic solo block by Moss for a three-point run to give Tech a 25-19 set win and 3-1 match win.

Georgia Tech outmatched Penn State in nearly every statistical category, having the advantage in kills, hitting percentage, assists, aces and digs on the way to outscoring the Nittany Lions 75-55 in combined winning sets.

Up Next

Tech will finish the day by taking on host UCF at 7 p.m. Saturday. Coverage information is available here.

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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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