THE FLATS – No. 8 Georgia Tech volleyball (21-3, 12-2 ACC) looks to re-write the history books once more, on Friday, when the Jackets host No. 7 Pittsburgh (21-4, 12-2 ACC) inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match will start at 5 p.m. on ACC Network. This will be the second of back-to-back Friday evening Top 10 matches for Tech, after defeating then-No. 3 Louisville last Friday in the highest ranked home win in program history.
Coverage
- Friday, Nov. 10 | No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 7 Pitt | 5 p.m. | ACC Network Extra | Watch | Live Stats
Parking
Standard parking will be available in the McCamish, East O’Keefe and Family Housing lots.
Storylines
- The Jackets are ranked No. 8 in the latest AVCA DI Coaches’ Poll, their highest ranking of the season.
- That’s now 66 straight weeks in the AVCA Top 25.
- Georgia Tech has beaten two Top 10 opponents in the same regular season for the first time in program history (No. 8 Penn State and No. 3 Louisville). A win against No. 7 Pitt would be the 7th Top 10 win in program history with 5 coming in the last three seasons (also at #2 Pitt, 2021 and vs. #10 BYU, 2022).
- Tech leads the ACC with 5 players honored in the weekly awards: Bianca Bertolino (Offensive POTW-10/23), Paola Pimentel (Defensive POTW-10/23 & 9/4), Larissa Mendes (Freshman of the Week-9/4 & 9/11), Tamara Otene (Offensive POTW-9/25) & Heloise Soares (Freshman of the Week-10/2 & 11/6).
- The Yellow Jackets boast one of the top defenses in the nation, leading the ACC with 15.48 digs/set, more than a full dig over 2nd place (BC – 14.23).
- Tech’s 15.41 digs/set is the second highest among Power 5 defenses, behind only Kansas (15.92).
- Pimentel has been leading the Tech back row with 4.38 digs/set this year, the 2nd in the ACC and the 7th most among Power 5 liberos. The Rio de Janeiro native is one dig shy of 400 for this season – something only accomplished by five Jackets in the modern scoring era.
- Otene has made 280 digs this season, the third most by a Power 5 hitter and the most among pins in the ACC.
- Bianca Bertolino has been a weapon from the service line. Her .62 aces/set is tied for the highest in Division I (Indiana’s Camryn Haworth). That average would set a new ACC record for aces/set in the modern scoring era.
- She is 8 aces away from tying the GT record for aces in a single season (modern scoring era), set back in 2019 by Julia Bergmann.
- Bertolino is the only player in Power 5 to have 250+ kills, 250+ digs and 50+ aces this season.
- Six Jackets come from outside the United States. International players accounting for 81.2% of the teams digs (1139), 75.8% of the aces (116), 69.4% of the kills (872), 47.2% of the assists (543) and 42.1% of the blocks (75.0) up to this point in the season.
- The Jackets are tied for the lead in the ACC with 13.80 kills/set – tied with Pitt – 9th best in the Power 5.
- Tech one of three Power 5 programs with three players in the Top 300 for Kills/set (2.97 or better) – along with Miami and Stanford. Otene (3.62 kills/set) is 4th in the ACC, alongside Bertolino (3.09 kills/set) & Larissa Mendes (2.98 kills/set).
- Otene and Bertolino both finished tied for the most kills in the ACC over the course of October, making 142 each.
Series Notes: vs. Pitt
- This will be the 16th all-time meeting between Georgia Tech and Pitt. Tech trails the series, 2-13.
- Both teams were in the Top 10 for their match in Atlanta last season, a 3-1 win for Pitt at McAmish Pavilion. This will be the first Top 10 battle between the two schools inside O’Keefe Gymnasium.
- The Jackets are looking for their first-ever win over Pitt in Atlanta. The highest ranked win in program history (over No. 2 Pitt) occurred in Pittsburgh back in 2021.
Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2
Looking to build on the success of last year’s Competitive Drive Initiative, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation and Georgia Tech athletics are partnering once again to launch Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2. CDI Turn 2 has a goal of raising $2.5 million in new gifts to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund by Dec. 31, and Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Foundation will match eligible gifts to accelerate the impact for Tech athletics. Like last year, not only will gifts to CDI Turn 2 be matched, but so will the contributor’s benefits in the way of A-T Fund giving levels and priority points. To learn more and contribute online, visit atfund.org/turn2.
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