No. 14 Jackets bounce back for wins over New Mexico State and Coastal Carolina

Jack here, this is not me doing the recap, but instead is our newest staff writer, my dear friend and partner in crime during our Technique days, Will Fuss. Fuss is a Tech BSIE graduate in the class of 2023 who worked as the Sports Staff Writer (Fall ‘20), Sports Editor (Spring ‘21-Fall’22), and Paper Boy (Spring ‘23) for the Technique while in school. They have covered every Tech varsity sport and have been a Tech fan for 23 years and grew up in the Atlanta area. Fuss will have his byline properly listed once we get his account sorted out!

Following a tough loss to a talented UCLA squad, Georgia Tech Volleyball handled business against their remaining GT Invitational foes by dispatching New Mexico State in four sets and a dominant sweep over Coastal Carolina. The Jackets move to 2-1 on the season and hold onto a No. 19 ranking as UCLA sneaks into the top 25.

Head coach Michelle Collier moved one win shy of 200 on the weekend, and will become the second Jacket volleyball skipper to reach the threshold. O’Keefe Gymnasium continues to fill up for every home tilt, as the sellout streak hit 30 games against the Aggies on Sunday afternoon.

Tech played efficient games to dispatch New Mexico State and Coastal Carolina, hitting .367 against the Aggies and completing the sweep against the Chanticleers by an average score of 25-18. Larissa Mendes totaled 31 kills, including 23 against New Mexico State (her career high), and Tamara Otene and Bianca Bertolino recorded double-doubles on Sunday and Monday respectively.

Sunday, September 1: 3-1 Win over New Mexico State

The Jackets dominated three of four sets against the Aggies, winning sets one, two, and four by scores of 25-13, 25-12, and 25-11. New Mexico state took the third set 25-21 on a hyper efficient .500 hitting percentage that included 10 kills by Starr Williams alone and only two attacking errors.

Tech played a shallow bench, with only nine players seeing action and the starters playing every point in the fourth set. Mendes and DeAndra Pierce each had eight-plus kills on a .500 or greater hitting percentage, including a career-high 23 kills by Mendes.

Otene had the game’s only double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs, while Bertolino’s nine kills and 16 digs left her just shy of the double-double mark. Luanna Emiliano recorded 43 assists, Sofia Velez had 16 digs, and Liv Mogridge had an efficient eight kills along with three of the team’s 10 blocks.

Monday, September 2: 3-0 Win over Coastal Carolina

Tech rounded out the weekend with a sweep over Coastal Carolina, holding the visitors to a .055 hitting percentage on the day. The Institute squeezed out a close first set win, 25-23, before more comfortable results of 25-12 and 25-19 for the win.

Only one Chanticleer, Jalyn Stout, had more than two kills with a positive hitting percentage, as her nine kills and two aces paced the visitors. Velez and Otene had 15 and 12 digs respectively as the Jackets benefited from clean receptions and 33 combined attacking and service errors by the Chanticleers.

Bertolino paced the Jackets offensively with 10 kills and added 11 digs for her second double-double of the year. Mogridge and Pierce both tallied at least five kills without an error, and Pierce had a game-high five blocks.

Takeaways

Bounce back: After dropping a close opener against a good UCLA team, Tech used the day off to reset and soundly defeat their remaining weekend slate. The sweep of Coastal Carolina was a strong finish to the weekend, but the team may have played even better against the Aggies besides the dropped third set.

Short leash: While the first two sets against New Mexico State were 25-13 wins, the third set loss spurred Collier into cutting out the bench entirely. Her trust paid off with a 25-11 final set win, but the Jackets will need more reliability from the reserves against the nation’s top teams.

Next Up

Tech travels to Provo to face Lipscomb and BYU on September 6 and 7. BYU is ranked No. 14 after a 3-0 start, and will be the Jackets’ first big road test. Each match will get underway at 9 p.m. Eastern.