Tech’s second straight win over a ranked opponent and first win in McCamish Pavilion
Less than a week after taking down #14 BYU in Provo, #15 Georgia Tech Volleyball played their most complete game of the season, taking down their 2023 NCAA Tournament 2nd round opponent #13 Florida in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-21) in front of a McCamish Pavilion crowd of 3,209. Tech is 5-1 and on a five game win streak, tonight led by a stellar Bianca Bertolino performance with 16 kills on .469%.
“It felt like we played clean, which was one of the things we wanted to emphasize. We did a good job defensively on the things we wanted to defend against [Florida]. We put some good pressure on the service line as well. Really good overall match for us. Great atmosphere,” said head coach Michelle Collier after the match.
Tech’s hitting was by far the best it has been all season, hitting .500 in the first set, .400 in the second, and .324 in the third for a match total of .367. Tech hit 46 kills with only 10 attack errors and five service errors, a significant dropoff from how they fared at BYU. Of note, their speed in system was very solid, which they knew was going to be necessary to get around Florida’s block.
“[Florida] has really good middles, so we knew we had to make them uncomfortable, and I think we did a good job with that,” said Tech outside hitter Bianca Bertolino.
For the first time in a McCamish game, Tech played on a volleyball specific TARAFLEX court after playing on the normal basketball hardwood the last two seasons. Aside from finally getting the “McCamish hoax” out of their system, it still is an adjustment from playing and practicing inside O’Keefe all year long.
“It’s so much bigger in here. We practiced at the beginning of the week here to get used to it, but it’s not the same as O’Keefe,” said Bertolino.
A lot of Tech’s advantage came from a mix of attack speeds, quick setting from Luanna Emiliano and Heloise Soares, and their usual stellar defense to take away any standard shot. Tech finished with 40 digs to Florida’s 34, Bertolino the most with 12.
1st set
Things started even as both squads were warming into the match, going all the way to 5-5 before Tech broke away with the first three point run of the match from a Leia Harper block and a couple Bianca Bertolino kills. She kept on her run of points to grow the lead to 11-7, and then Otene found a gaping hole in Florida’s backline to make it 12-8 and force the first Gator timeout.
Emiliano and DeAndra Pierce connected out of the timeout twice to wide open court to hit in, making it 15-8 and then 17-11 a few points later. Soares had a couple sets where she had to reach with one arm being out of position, including one called for a lift, but it got Tech out of system and gave Florida a three point run, prompting Tech’s first timeout up 17-14. Bertolino hit a tip kill and Harper put down her second block of the set to reestablish the six point lead up 20-14 before another Florida three point run which included another Soares lift call to get to 20-17. A Harper kill stemmed the bleeding and Tech went on a 5-1 run with two Bertolino aces to win 25-18.
2nd set (1-0 GT)
Again it took a bit before Tech could break away with Florida actually controlling the first few points up to a 4-3 lead. Mendes after only one first set kill got in the action with a couple kills to tie it at 4-4 before Otene had a kill and ace combo to tie it again at 6-6. From there, Bertolino went on an absolute tear with four kills to make it 11-8. Even though Florida was playing better defense and forcing Tech to make their own stops, the long points would go Tech’s way, getting kills from Mogridge and Mendes before a Soares ace made it 15-11 to the TV timeout.
Florida called timeout after Tech’s pre and post-TV timeout run reached four points, doing exactly what they needed getting tip calls at the net and Bertolino hitting her first error in seemingly a month, forcing Tech’s first timeout up 17-14. It was exactly what Tech needed, going on a 4-2 run which included a rare Harper kill on the first in system play and an Emiliano ace to make it 21-16, forcing Florida’s second timeout.
Out of the timeout, Mendes put up three blocks in a row on the same point, finally landing the third one for the point. Florida countered with a couple blocks of their own before Mendes put Tech back in the drivers seat with a kill off a Florida noggin, then Otene closed it out at 25-19. Tech after two sets was hitting a phenomenal .459%.
3rd set (2-0 GT)
Emiliano got things rolling with an ace but Florida had better control of the early set even though Tech kept the game within a point all the way to 7-7. There, Florida went on a strange four point run to make it 11-7 which included a misjudged ball Tech let land and then Soares looked to have jammed her finger going for a ball at the net. She came out of the game and quickly went to the locker room to tape up a couple of fingers on her right hand and then kep those in a cup of ice water on the bench.
Mendes and Otene hit kills to shrink the lead back to two before a net violation and a Mogridge ace tied it up at 14-14. Florida kept control keeping a one or two point gap up to 18-16 where Tech called their first timeout. It was perfectly timed as Mendes hit a laser kill and then Velez had her best dig of the season to save a point for a Bertolino kill to tie it at 18. Emiliano hit another ace to give Tech their first lead at 20-19 since Emiliano’s other ace to start the set. A big Florida service error at 20-20 gave way to an Otene kill before Florida called timeout at 22-20. In what was arguably Tech’s most broken point of the night, they barely kept the ball up giving Florida a free ball that Fitzpatrick somehow hit into the vertical netcord, setting up match point which Mendes secured on a block.
Stats & Game Leaders
Stats via Georgia Tech
Game Leaders
Kills: Bianca Bertolino (GT) – 16
Assists: Taylor Parks (UF) – 33
Digs: Bianca Bertolino (GT) – 12
Points: Bianca Bertolino (GT) – 17
Hit % (min. 10 attempts): Jaela Auguste (UF) – .667%
Blocks: Amaya Thomas (UF) – 5
Takeaways
Service errors not a thing
The reduction in service errors was a big deal. This was a key for the team in cleaning up their play and not giving away points. Tech had a +3 advantage in this department, which while didn’t compensate for why Tech was winning sets, getting rid of the unforced errors turned this match from a really tight match to one Tech was firmly in control of for about 75% of the match, and never had to go to a fourth.
UF mistakes
For the first couple sets, Florida’s defense regularly was leaving large holes for Tech to attack in and their block was not quick enough to pose a serious threat to Bertolino/Otene/Mendes. Only once or twice did they truly lay down a big time block that Tech couldn’t stop, but structurally it seemed they were not equiped to fully handle what Tech was bringing them.
Bertolino owning this game without the serve
Bianca only had one ace and was taken off the service line on her first serve twice. She along with everyone else took over this game with their offense. Her 16 kills are a season high for her, and her .469 hit % is her best since going .579% against Pitt last season. She had kills from the backrow. Her tip shots always threw Florida out of rhythm as designed, and when she did get her serve in, it was always difficult to handle. If only the ball didn’t fly 10 feet in the air after the initial dig every time!
Georgia Tech Volleyball next plays September 12 at 7 p.m. against South Alabama back in O’Keefe Gymnasium on ACCNX.