GREENSBORO, N.C. – Freshman setter Heloise Soares has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week after helping guide No. 11 Georgia Tech (13-1, 4-0 ACC) to another undefeated week in conference play, the league office announced on Monday. The award marks Soares’ first career weekly recognition by the ACC.
Soares served as a spark for the Yellow Jackets through another 2-0 weekend, helping them sweep Virginia Tech (10-5, 0-4 ACC) and emerge victorious in five sets over Wake Forest (11-4, 2-2 ACC).
The Brazilian served as a change of pace against the Hokies, totaling double-digit assists for a previous career high of 13 along with four digs. To follow, Soares took the reins as primary setter for the first time in her career, charting personal bests across the board in assists (34), digs (eight) and blocks (two), plus an ace to guide Tech to the five-set triumph over the Demon Deacons. Tech’s young setter added seven of those assists in the fifth set, including match point, as the offense flowed through her to victory.
Overall, Soares finished with a team-leading 47 assists (5.88 per set), an ace, 12 digs and two blocks on the weekend.
In her first season on The Flats, the up-and-comer has tallied 110 assists, 36 digs and four aces to date.
Georgia Tech picks up its fifth weekly ACC honor following the sixth week of the season, already surpassing last season’s total of four as each were previously awarded to decorated former outside hitter Julia Bergmann.
Up Next
Georgia Tech will finish the tail end of its four-match road stint, heading to No. 7 Pitt (13-2, 4-0 ACC) on Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup in Pittsburgh before wrapping up the trip at Virginia (8-6, 1-3 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va.
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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