THE FLATS – No. 19 Georgia Tech volleyball (2-1) put on a defensive display on Monday afternoon, stifling Coastal Carolina (0-3) by a final score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-19) inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. The Yellow Jackets finished with 54 digs and 8.0 blocks as a team while holding Coastal Carolina to just .055 hitting.
QUICK HITS
- Georgia Tech fans filled O’Keefe Gym marking the 31st consecutive sellout for the program dating back to the 2021 season.
- The Jackets secured their first sweep of the season, having won in four sets earlier in the GT Invitational.
- Tech won the second set 25-12. The Jackets have won all three 2nd sets so far in 2024 by an average score of 25-12 (defeated UCLA 25-11 and NMSU 25-13).
- Senior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino secured her second double-double of the season and 27th of her career, posting 10 kills and 11 digs.
- Junior libero Sofia Velez delivered her best performance as a Jacket, finishing with a team-high 15 digs (5 digs/set).
- Senior middle blocker DeAndra Pierce matched her career-best with five blocks today, the most on the team. Her 1.67 blocks/set is a new career-best.
- Junior middle blocker Liv Mogridge led the team with an efficient .500 hitting, making her six kills on 12 swings without committing an error.
- This was head coach Michelle Collier’s 199th victory at Tech as she pushes to become only the second GT head coach to achieve 200 wins on The Flats.
GT VB vs. Coastal
Photos by Danny Karnik
SET BY SET
Set 1 (GT 25 – CCU 23)
The day began with a back-and-forth battle in set one, thanks to eight ties and four lead changes. Tech gained some late set momentum to take a 22-19 lead, forcing a Coastal Carolina timeout. The Chanticleers came back with some momentum, cutting the Tech lead to 24-23 and forcing a timeout. Tech closed out the set 25-23 after a service error from Coastal. The Yellow Jacket defense was led by Sofia Velez, who totaled seven digs, while the offense was led by Tamara Otene and Bianca Bertolino, with four kills each.
Set 2 (GT 25- CCU 12)
Tech enjoyed the first scoring run of set two, taking a 6-1 lead and causing the Chanticleers to call a timeout. Tech momentum continued throughout the second set, taking a 13-3 lead over Coastal. Defensive miscues from Tech allowed Coastal to cut into the lead, using a 4-0 run to make the score 17-9. Georgia Tech shutdown any Coastal Carolina momentum closing the set 25-12 to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Tech defense put up a strong front in set two, holding the Chanticleers to just a .057 hitting percentage, with Tech totaling 25 digs, including a team-best 8 from Otene.
Set 3 (GT 25– CCU 19)
Coastal took an early 6-2 lead in set three, but Tech responded with points of their own, tying the set at 10-10. Coastal Carolina went on a 5-0 run, before the Yellow Jackets fought back, trailing 16-17, forcing a Chanticleer timeout. Tech rode a 6-0 run to take and extend the lead, up 20-17 over Coastal. The Jackets used a 4-0 run to close the match, winning the set 25-19. The Jackets spread the ball around well in the comeback with five players making multiple kills. In the end, back-to-back kills from Bertolino brought the match to a close. She finished with three kills along with three apiece from Pierce and Mendes. The defense stayed strong holding Coastal to -.065 hitting, the first negative hitting set of the season from a GT opponent.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech heads out to Provo, Utah for the first road trip of the 2024 season. The Jackets will face Lipscomb in a neutral site match on Friday, Sept. 6 at 9 p.m. ET before facing the hosts, BYU, on Saturday (Sept. 7) at 9 p.m. ET.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and 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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