Georgia
Wisconsin volleyball: Badgers overcome first set loss to beat Georgia Tech 3-1, advance to Sweet Sixteen
After letting the opening set slip through their fingers, No. 2 Wisconsin bounced back to win three straight to defeat the No. 7 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21) to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin had a huge night for the Badgers, scoring a double-double with 20 kills and 10 digs while hitting .294.
Wisconsin got off to a strong start in the opening set and looked to be cruising over a Georgia Tech team coming off a five-set battle in their first match with Tennessee. Junior middle blocker Carter Booth got started early with some quick kills as UW went up 12-7 to force a GT timeout. Though the Jackets cut the lead to 16-14, the Badgers pushed on to go up 20-15 to force another timeout with another kill from Booth on an overpass.
A block from senior opposite Anna Smrek pushed Wisconsin’s lead to 22-16, but the Jackets seemed to flip a switch from that point on. Suddenly, their defense was able to get block touches and make it harder for UW’s hits to terminate.
Senior Bianca Bertolino also started a 3-0 service run that featured an ace that cut the lead to 22-19 and forced a timeout from Kelly Sheffield. Outside hitter Tamara Otene then helped tie the set at 23-23 with a kill. The New Zealand native had a match-high 21 kills and was a thorn in UW’s side. Although senior Devyn Robinson set up a UW set point at 25-24, three straight points for Tech helped them take set one and stun the crowd. Otene had seven kills in the opening set.
Wisconsin got off to a quick start in the second set. A great serve from freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer let senior opposite Anna Smrek get the kill on an overpass to give UW a 9-6 lead. But Tech fought back to go up 12-11 after a kill from Kiwi Otene, forcing a Wisconsin timeout.
The timeout worked as UW went on a 3-0 run to re-take the lead at 14-12, and the lead extended to 18-15. The Tech defenders were swarming, keeping so many balls up, a trait that made them a tough out all season against the top teams in the ACC. Libero Sofia Velez had 11 digs at that point in the night. She finished with 19 while three other Jackets had over 10.
But Velez was struggling at times in the serve receive, and in the second set, Fuerbringer had two straight aces on Velez that gave the Badgers a 22-16 lead that energized the whole arena and gave UW a lead they would not relinquish.
In the third set, UW’s block started to make itself known. Booth and Smrek combined on an early block to put the Badgers up 6-1 and force a GT timeout. Wisconsin had nine blocks at that point on the night, while Smrek finished with nine — making her one shy of a double-double as the 6-foot-9 Canadian had 13 kills in a stellar performance — and Booth had eight.
The Jackets got back in the frame thanks to a service run from Bertolino. The Argentine had a wicked topspin serve that helped GT cut the lead to 13-11. A service error stopped her mini-run, but she had a touch kill over the fingertips of UW’s huge block to cut the lead to 18-16 and force a timeout from Sheffield.
Bertolino had 17 kills and 17 digs on the night. A kill from Booth then a block from her and Smrek gave UW a 21-18 lead, but the Jackets fought right back to tie the third set 22-22. Smrek then had two straight kills and Fuerbringer had a huge block on Otene to give Wisconsin the 25-23 set win to put the Badgers up 2-1 on the match.
Despite the Jackets’ dogged back row defense, untimely service errors and the Badger block helped beat Georgia Tech. But key players stepped up for Wisconsin in key moments.
Senior Devyn Robinson was able to get a groove on offense off the slide play. In limited rotations, the senior from Ankeny, Iowa had eight kills and no errors on offense with three timely kills in the fourth frame. She and Franklin combined on a huge block that put Wisconsin up 14-11. Booth then was able to convert a kill off a slide play for her tenth kill on the evening, giving UW a 16-14 lead.
But again, the Jackets fought back and tied the fourth set at 20-all and forced a UW timeout. Robinson got a kill from the slide right after the timeout then combined with Fuerbringer on a block to make the score 22-20. Then Frank the Tank closed out the night with three straight kills to close out the match for Wisconsin, helping the Badgers advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
In each set, the Badgers’ hit percentage steadily increased, and the stars showed up when they were needed the most. That’s a winning recipe even if there are some things to clean up. But Wisconsin’s win means they’ll be dancing for a second weekend — likely heading to Lincoln, Nebraska if the Huskers take care of business in their second-roundg match against Miami.
Georgia Tech didn’t let the weekend get away.
The No. 2 Yellow Jackets were flying high with a 13-game win streak heading into the weekend showdown against No. 3 North Carolina. The Tar Heels took the first two games, but Tech salvaged the finale 5-2 on Sunday.
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 2 Georgia Tech got back to its winning ways, defeating No. 3 North Carolina (33-7-1, 15-6 ACC) by a final score of 5-2 from Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Yellow Jackets (32-7, 16-5 ACC) held UNC in check from the third inning on, using 6.1 scoreless innings from Caden Gaudette and Mason Patel to salvage the series and collect its 10th Top 15 victory of the season for this first time this century.
After both teams traded runs in the first inning, the Jackets struck for three runs on three hits in the third. The inning started with a leadoff double from Drew Burress who was quickly brought to the plate by a single from Jarren Advincula. Vahn Lackey drew a walk off a full count before Kent Schmidt connected for an RBI double, bringing in Advincula for what would become the game-winning run. Lackey made it a three-run inning when he scored on an RBI groundout by Ryan Zuckerman. UNC would work the bases loaded and score a run in the bottom of the inning before Gaudette entered the game and induced an inning ending groundout. UNC wouldn’t get another runner into scoring position until the eight inning as Gaudette and Patel slammed the door on any potential comeback.
QUICK HITS: TEAM
- The Jackets improve to 32-7, the best start to a season since 2010. Tech is 16-5 in ACC play, the best start since 2011.
- Tech has won 32 of its first 39 games for only the 6th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2003 2002, 1997, 1993 and now 2026.
- James Ramsey owns the best record by any GT head coach in his first season through 39 games (32-7).
- The Jackets improve to 8-1 in nationally televised games this season.
- Tech has now won 10 games over Top 15 opponents for the first time this century.
- Tech has scored 417 runs through their first 39 games. It’s the most runs Georgia Tech has recorded after 39 games in the program’s 131-year history and the most runs any Power 4 team has scored through 39 games in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
- The Jackets scoring average now stands at 10.7 runs/game this season. The program record is 10.3, set back in 1984.
- GT is outscoring its opponents 417-174, that +243 margin is the highest through 39 games in program history.
- The bullpen delivered 6.1 scoreless innings, marking the 15th scoreless outing of the season and second of the weekend.
QUICK HITS: THE BATS
- Junior Drew Burress produced his 17th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
- He has scored 51 runs this season, one shy of Vahn Lackey for the most on the team. Burress has scored 201 runs over his career, tied with Danny Payne (2005-07) for the 11th most in Georgia Tech history.
- He becomes the first Yellow Jacket in the BBCOR era to record 200+ runs over a career.
- Junior Kent Schmidt went 2-for-4 with a go-ahead RBI double and a shift-beating bunt.
- He leads the team with 26 RBI in ACC play and has delivered 35 for the season.
- Schmidt has now collected extra base hits in three straight games for the first time this season and third time in his GT career.
- He finishes the series with a .500 average, going 4-for-8 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI, two runs scored and three walks
- Junior Jarren Advincula recorded his 24th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
- He leads the ACC with 68 hits this season, averaging 1.7 hits per game and putting him on pace for 94 hits over the course of the regular season. With potential postseason games, that would put him in striking distance of being the first 100-hit player at GT since 2005 (Wes Hodges & Tyler Greene).
- He drove in his 45th RBI of the season, the third most on the team behind Vahn Lackey and Ryan Zuckerman.
- Junior Ryan Zuckerman became the first Jacket to reach 50 RBI when he drove in Lackey for the fourth run of the game.
- Sophomore Caleb Daniel came off the bench in the 5th inning and blooped an RBI double, it was his 24th RBI of the season and his 5th as a pinch hitter.
QUICK HITS: THE ARMS
- Sophomore Jackson Blakely made his sixth consecutive weekend start, pitching 2.2 innings with two earned runs allowed and three strikeouts.
- He has only allowed runs in only three of his eight appearances this season (37.1 innings) this season.
- His ERA stands at 2.65, the lowest among all starting pitchers on the roster.
- R-junior Caden Gaudette made his team-leading 16th appearance of the season and 2nd of the weekend, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings.
- He entered the game with a two-run lead (4-2) and the bases loaded with two outs before inducing an inning ending groundout to short.
- Gaudette lowers his ERA to 2.86 in 22.0 innings of work.
- The man they call “Rock” pitched a total of 3.1 innings this weekend, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts.
- He has now pitched as many innings this season as he had in his previous two years combined (22.0) while allowing less than half as many earned runs (7 in 2026, 15 in 2024-25) and exactly half as many hits (12 in 2026, 24 in 2024-25).
- Mason Patel got the ball to start the 6th inning, keeping the score at 5-2 for the final four frames and collecting his fourth save of the season.
- Since recovering from an injury that saw him miss 20 days, Patel has made six appearances out of the bullpen, pitching 13.2 scoreless innings with a victory and four saves.
- Over the last two seasons, Patel has made 29 appearances out of the bullpen, posting 12 wins and nine saves.
- This was his longest relief appearance of the season (4.0 innings) after pitching at least 3.0 innings in 15 of his 23 appearances during his All-American season last year.
Up Next
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Tuesday at 7 pm at Truist Park. Tickets are available HERE with all proceeds benefiting the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on X (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who projects as a Day 2 draft pick, may have just damaged his draft stock with an arrest on misdemeanor obstruction charges.
Athens Clarke County police arrested Branch Sunday morning for obstructing public sidewalks/streets-prowling and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Branch was booked into the Clarke County Jail at 1:26 a.m. Sunday and released at 3:44 a.m.
Branch was considered the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the country coming out of high school. He started his college football career at USC in 2023 and played two seasons for the Trojans before transferring to Georgia last year.
As a freshman Branch was a first-team All-American punt returner and last year he led the SEC with 81 catches. His 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the Combine bolstered his draft stock. Now Branch will have to hope his arrest doesn’t tank his draft stock.
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