Taking care of business kind of day
ATLANTA — Two days after the biggest win in O’Keefe Gymnasium history, #10 Georgia Tech Volleyball cruised to a 3-0 sweep over Notre Dame (25-16, 25-15, 25, 14) highlighted by a Bianca Bertolino double-double (10 kills, 16 digs) and Tamara Otene’s game leading 16 kills.
Otene eclipsed the 300 kill mark, sitting now at 315 for the season. Paola Pimentel’s 11 digs put her two away from 400 on the season.
Defensively, it certainly wasn’t the hardest test of the season for Tech, the 3rd best digging team in the nation and best in the ACC, but Notre Dame’s .020 hitting percentage was the worst of any Tech opponent this season. Sydney Palazzolo, the Irish’s main attacker, hit for .075 with 40 attacks and 10 kills.
Tech’s record is now 21-3, 12-2 in the ACC. They remain in a tie for 1st in the ACC along with Florida State, #3 Louisville, and #9 Pitt.
Liv Mogridge once again didn’t play due to a right knee injury. According to the team, she is being evaluated on a match by match basis on if she will play.
1st set
Tech’s offense was fluid from the first point with three assists in system by D’Amico to set up kills by Bertolino, Otene, and Anna Boezi to go up 4-1. After an unsuccessful challenge by Notre Dame’s head coach, Salima Rockwell, that kept a Mendes kill, Tech went on a four point run to go up 9-5. The Irish brought it back close with their own three point run to go down 12-9, but Tech immediately ran away again with another four point run to go up 15-10 that included a rare Paola Pimentel kill after finding a massive hole in the floor on a casual bump shot over the net.
Collier called timeout with Tech up 17-14 after the defense was slipping some, but there was little to worry about as Pimentel got another kill, this time on a dig that trickled over the net, as Tech won eight of the last 10 points to take the set 25-16.
2nd set (1-0 GT)
The second set started slow for Tech, who couldn’t get their way in system as easily as they did in the first. A successful challenge by Collier gave Tech a 2-1 lead on Bertolino’s serve, but poor defensive decision making shortened her run at the service line to two points. The Irish went on a three point run to tie it at 4-4, starting on an Otene attack error forced by D’Amico, who set the ball nearly a foot behind the her sweet spot.
Tech didn’t get into a groove until they won a super long point on a Boezi kill to go up 11-9, spurring a four point run on Bertolino’s serve ending at 14-10. Tech kept up the pace, winning six of eight points after Otene smacked a kill off a Notre Dame blocker’s head into the band. By then the Jackets were running full steam away with the set, winning 15 of the last 21 points to take a 25-15 set win where the defense held Notre Dame to a -0.026 hit percentage.
3rd set (2-0 GT)
Anna Boezi started the third set off with a complete swing and a miss at the net, but redeemed herself a couple points later with a kill that made it 2-1 Notre Dame. The Irish maintained a slim lead until Tech’s first run of the set, scoring three in a row to up 7-5. Pierce then had a couple rare mistakes, first a double touch then a very short service error, both allowing Notre Dame to tie the game at 8-8 then 9-9.
D’Amico in the third set started to slip with her setting, but a long point where she was able to find her timing with Mendes on four attacks in a row to put Tech up 11-9. Collier stuck with the 6-2 formation with Heloise Soares and Smiley Mnayang for the rest of the set afterwards. That ended up being the move that won the set, as Tech then went on a nine point scoring run with Soares at the line to put Tech up 22-14 where Notre Dame looked completely defeated throughout. DeAndra Pierce finished off the win with her 4th kill of the match for a 25-14 set win.
Stats via Georgia Tech
Game Leaders
Kills: Tamara Otene (GT) – 16
Assists: Heloise Soares (GT) – 19
Digs: Bianca Bertolino (GT) – 13
Points: Tamara Otene (GT) – 18.5
Hit % (min. 10 attempts): Tamara Otene (GT) – .448
Blocks: Smiley Manyang (GT) – 4
Takeaways
– Riding the defense: Both sets two and three were extremely similar for Tech. With the offense needing some time to find a groove, Tech’s defense was more than enough to keep the game within a couple points in either direction. While Notre Dame is no Pitt or Louisville, at this point in the season is good to have the defense playing at the level where Tech won’t backslide if the offense isn’t clicking quite yet. Then, in both cases they went on long runs that wore out Notre Dame.
– Every game is must win: Tech currently is 12-2 in the ACC. There is no ACC Tournament or tiebreakers to determine a champion (Pitt an Louisville were co-champs last year). If Tech is to win the conference without some stunning losses by all of Florida State, Louisville, and Pitt, Tech will need to win out. With games left against Louisville and Pitt, it’s going to be super tough, but even games like this can’t be ignored. Florida State has a far easier schedule than Tech, so unless the Noles drop one, Tech likely will finish behind them.
Tech likely would still be line to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament even with losses to Louisville and Pitt.
#10 Georgia Tech Volleyball next plays Friday, November 10 vs. #8 Pitt at O’Keefe Gymnasium at 5 p.m. on ACCN.
Jack Purdy is a non-revenue sports writer and co-host of Scions of the Southland for From the Rumble Seat. He previously served as The Technique’s assistant sports editor before graduating Georgia Tech in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @JackNicolaus