THE FLATS – No. 5 seed Georgia Tech volleyball (20-7, 13-5 ACC) will begin its run in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship at No. 4 seed Marquette, facing off against Wright State (28-3, 18-0 Horizon) for the first time in the First Round on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wisc.
Coverage
- Thursday, Dec. 1 | No. 5 seed Georgia Tech vs. Wright State | 5 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats | Radio
- Friday, Dec. 2 | First Round winner (1) vs. First Round winner (2) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats | Radio
Radio
Georgia Tech’s radio broadcast will be streamed online HERE.
Storylines
- Georgia Tech has been selected to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season, all under coach Michelle Collier, and 12th time in program history.
- Five Yellow Jackets recently received All-ACC selections, including senior outside hitter Julia Bergmann and graduate middle blocker Breland Morrissette as First Team All-ACC honorees while senior middle blocker Erin Moss, junior setter Bella D’Amico and sophomore outside hitter Bianca Bertolino each earned Second Team All-ACC honors.
- The Yellow Jackets earned 13 wins in ACC play on the season, tying the fourth highest tally all time and owning double-digit conference triumphs for four consecutive years.
- Tech has picked up 14 sweeps on the year, including nine in the ACC.
- The Jackets were ranked No. 13 in this week’s AVCA DI Coaches Poll.
- The 13 spot ties the 10th-highest ranking received by the White and Gold in program history, joining the 2003 squad.
- The Yellow Jackets have been listed in 53 straight top 25 polls to date.
- Georgia Tech is one of three ACC teams inside the top 15 (No. 4 Louisville, No. 6 Pitt).
- As a unit, Georgia Tech is currently second in the ACC in both kills per set (13.84) and assists per set (12.87). The Yellow Jackets are also sitting third in the league in both hitting percentage (.257) and opponent hitting percentage (.176).
- Coach Michelle Collier has made her mark on the program, moving to second in program history in ACC victories (98) and tying second in overall triumphs (172) during her time on The Flats. Over the course of her entire coaching career, she also eclipsed 200 wins this season as she’s up to 212 to date.
- Senior outside hitter Julia Bergmann recently moved into Tech’s top 10 in single-season kills, tying ninth with 515 to date.
- On her career, the explosive attacker is currently sixth in Tech history in career kills with 1,708 to date.
- Bergmann owns four ACC Player of the Week recognitions with back-to-back honors on two separate occasions this season, tying her career best and leading the league. Prior to Bergmann a season ago, no one in the ACC had matched the tally since 2015.
- The powerful outside hitter also added her second career GameChanger Division I National Player of the Week selection from the AVCA this season, which made her the first Yellow Jacket in program history to garner two career recognitions.
- Bergmann made waves in Tech’s comeback over Florida State specifically, unleashing a career best and program-record tying 38 kills in the match to become the first Yellow Jacket ever with four individual matches of 30 or more kills.
- Bergmann continues to lead the ACC by a wide margin on the attack, ranking ninth in the NCAA in kills (515) and 10th in points (577.5) while placing third in the nation in both kills per set (5.31) and points per set (5.95).
- In individual matches, the lauded outside hitter now owns the top two marks in kills in a match across the ACC and five of the top eight, highlighted by her 38 kills against Florida State leading the way. Bergmann is the only player in the ACC with more than 30 kills in a match this season, having done so twice.
- The decorated attacker continues to climb deeper into the Tech record books as she’s become the fifth Yellow Jacket in program history to join the 1,500 kill/1,000 dig club. Having already surpassed 1,500 kills against Boston College, Bergmann eclipsed 1,000 career digs against North Carolina.
- The vaunted Yellow Jacket is also fifth all time in career aces, owning 162 to date.
- Bergmann is up to 12 outings of 20+ kill this season, earning five against ranked opponents, and 12 double doubles.
- Graduate middle blocker Breland Morrissette joins Bergmann with one of the top marks in the country, currently leading the league and placing seventh in the nation in hitting percentage at a .434 clip.
- Morrissette (102) along with senior middle blocker Erin Moss (101) have both surpassed 100 blocks on the season.
- Junior setter Bella D’Amico has run Tech’s formidable attack this season as one of the best setters in the league, sitting fourth in the conference in assists per set (10.20) and total assists (989) as she approaches 1,000 single-season assists for the first time in her career.
- Going beyond 2019’s NIVC title, Tech has won 78 of its last 97 matches.
- Over the course of the past four seasons, Georgia Tech is 46-7 at home in O’Keefe Gymnasium. Tech is 305-104 (.746) all time in O’Keefe Gymnasium’s 28-year history.
Series History
- The matchup to open the First Round of the NCAA tournament will mark the first meeting of the Georgia Tech and Wright State.
- The White and Gold have never faced any of the teams competing at Marquette for the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA tournament, also including host Marquette and Ball State.
Tech in the Tournament
Georgia Tech’s selection to the 2022 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship marks the 12th appearance in program history. Tech’s first action in the Big Dance came in 1994 after winning the ACC regular season title. The Jackets would advance to the second round of the tournament that season and follow suit for the next pair of seasons. Tech reached the second round of the tournament after winning a second consecutive ACC regular season title as well as the ACC Tournament title in 1995 and placing second in the ACC in 1996. From 1999-2004, Georgia Tech reached five straight NCAA Tournaments, advancing as far as the Elite Eight in 2003 followed by the Sweet 16 in 2004. Over that span, the Jackets claimed three ACC regular season titles and one ACC Tournament title. Tech reached the first round of the tournament in 2009.
After reaching the second round of the 2020 NCAA tournament two seasons prior, Tech’s first appearance since 2009, the Yellow Jackets advanced to the Elite Eight a season ago to tie the 2003 squad for the best finish in program history. The White and Gold will now make a third straight tournament appearance for the first time since advancing to the Big Dance five consecutive years from 2000-04. The selection also marks the third berth in the Big Dance for the Yellow Jackets under head coach Michelle Collier.
Up Next
The winner of the Tech’s First Round match will advance to take on the winner of host Marquette (27-3, 17-1 Big East) and Ball State (24-8, 15-3 MAC) on Friday at 7 p.m. The victor will move on to regional play on Dec. 8 and 10 at one of four non-predetermined campus sites.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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