THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball has been ranked No. 14 in the preseason edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/TARAFLEX Division I Women’s Volleyball Poll, it was announced Monday. It is the fifth-straight season the Yellow Jackets have received a preseason Top 25 ranking, the longest such streak in program history.
The No. 14 ranking is the fifth-highest in program history and the best since being ranked No. 9 in the 2022 preseason poll. It is the fifth time GT has received a Top 15 ranking to begin a season (also ’22, ’20, ’04 and ’03). The Jackets finished the 2023 campaign ranked No. 14 after reaching the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons.
This poll marks the 71st consecutive week of GT volleyball in the national polls, dating back to the 2020 fall preseason. It is the longest stretch of rankings in program history.
Tech is one of five ACC programs in the Top 25 along with No. 4 Pitt, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Louisville and No. 20 Florida State. The Jackets were selected to finish 4th in the ACC preseason poll, voted on by the league’s coaches earlier this month.
2024 Season Outlook
The Jackets return five starters from last year’s Sweet 16 team including the team leaders in kills (Tamara Otene – 406), hitting percentage (Liv Mogridge – .433), aces (Bianca Bertolino – 62) and blocks (DeAndra Pierce – 64). All four Tech representatives from the 2023 ACC postseason awards are back for more in 2024: Bertolino and Otene (1st Team All-ACC) and Heloise Soares and Larissa Mendes (All-Freshman Team).
This will be head coach Michelle Collier’s 11th season on The Flats, tying AVCA Hall of Famer Shelton Collier for the longest tenured coach in program history. At GT, she has 197 wins (2nd most behind Shelton Collier), 111 ACC victories (program record) seven NCAA Tournament match victories (program record) and is the first coach to have led the Jackets to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Collier is the first Tech coach to have five consecutive seasons with a winning percentage over .700 both overall and in conference play (2019-pres.).
The 2024 roster will feature 12 returners and six newcomers: senior transfer setter Luanna Emiliano, junior college transfer DS/L Sofia Velez and freshmen: RS Lara Martinez Casas, MB/RS Mira McCool, MB Logan Wiley and DS/L Lydia Zeng.
Georgia Tech now boasts seven athletes from outside the United States, (38.9 % of the roster) tied with Wisconsin for the most international roster among Power 4 programs. The Yellow Jackets have representatives from five countries on the roster: 11 Americans, 3 Brazilians (Emiliano, Mendes and Soares), 2 Argentinians (Bertolino and Martinez Casas) 1 New Zealander (Otene) and 1 Colombian (Velez).
Tech begins the regular season on Friday, August 30th against UCLA inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. For a complete breakdown of the schedule, click HERE
McCamish Ticket Information
GT volleyball will play its third-ever match at McCamish Pavilion on Wednesday, September 11, at 7 p.m. against Florida. Last season, Tech set a new attendance record with 5,303 fans in the crowd against UGA. Help us set another record by purchasing your single game tickets HERE
McCamish Ticket Pricing
Courtside: Reserved Adult $30 / Reserved Youth $30
Lower Level SL Reserved: Reserved Adult $15 / Reserved Youth $8
Lower Level Endzone/General Admission: Adult $10/ Youth $8 / Group $5
O’Keefe Ticket Information
In less than two weeks, Yellow Jacket fans have sold out all 10 ACC home matches for the 2024 season. There are still limited tickets available for three non-conference matches (Sept. 2, Sept. 12 and Sept. 13). Secure the hottest ticket in Atlanta before they’re gone by clicking HERE
General Admission Pricing
Adult – $12
Youth – $8
Group (10+) – $5
*Youth tickets cannot be purchased online.
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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