#1 showed why they are #1
Georgia Tech’s 13th ranked volleyball squad was swept 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-8) by the #1 Pitt Panthers, which as you can tell by those set scores, it was not a particularly close match. This was the first time ever the #1 team in the country visited Georgia Tech in program history and sixth time Tech has played the #1 team ever. Tech remains 0-6 in such games and moves to 8-3 (0-2 ACC) for the 2024 season.
Pitt’s multiheaded monster of Olivia Babcock, Torrey Stafford, Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Rachel Fairbanks, and others demonstrated potentially the most sound game against a Power 4/5 opponent that any team has ever played inside O’Keefe Gymnasium. They made insane digs look normal, they could hit any kill they wanted in system,
Tech only hit for a postive hit % in the second set, and even that was only 0.088 in the set where they had their most errors at 10. The Jackets have been down backup setter Heloise Soares since the end of the Florida game after she broke her finger in that game (she’ll be out until November), meaning their standard 6-2 rotation had to utilize third string setter Ashlyn Goolsby. With Goolsby on the floor in the first and third sets, Pitt outscored Tech 15-2.
Liv Mogridge was Tech’s player on the day with six kills and block, one of the three Tech put up all day. Larissa Mendes was Tech’s leading attacker with eight kills at a .125% clip.
Pitt meanwhile as a team hit .493%, recorded 12 blocks, and had an insane 76.3% side out percentage. Their entire team was playing at an incredibly high level, which when they do, there isn’t a team in the country that can match them. There’s a reason they are 36-0 in sets this season after today.
With a 3-0 loss to #23 SMU on Friday, this marks the first time in the Collier-era that Tech has lost consecutive home games 3-0, the last time coming in 2013 against Duke and Wake Forest.
Set 1
Pitt came out firing at the level they’ve been playing at all year, winning 12 of the first 15 points during which Tech lost a challenge on the first point and subsequently only scored on two Pitt service errors and a lonely Mendes kill before Collier called her first timeout.
With Soares injured, Ashlyn Gooslby took over at the setter position for Tech’s standard 6-2 rotation and promptly lost every point she played during an eight point run for Pitt, only ended by Pitt’s third service error. Tech called timeout again down 19-4, and coming out Tech finally had some semblance of rhythm, going on a four point run which included an Emiliano ace and a couple good kills from Mogridge and Mendes. Pitt eventually closed out the set 25-11.
Stats via Georgia Tech
Set 2 (Pitt 1-0)
Tech’s late momentum carried into the second set, getting their first lead of the match off the bat from a Pitt service error, then growing the lead to 7-4 from two great back line kills by Mendes and Otene. Pitt closed that gap with an immediate three point run going into a string of ties to 11-11. After a successful challenge on a Mendes kill by Pitt (and a subsequent Claudio Pinhero yellow card), the Panthers went on a five point run before a Mogridge block stopped that at 16-12 Pitt.
After a timeout, Collier tried to add some blocking during Tech’s serve by swapping Laura Fischer in Emiliano’s place, but in both instances Pitt got a kill on their first attacks. Bertolino and Mendes hit a kill each to at least cross over the 15 point mark before Tech’s 2nd timeout down 23-16. Pitt would take the set 25-17.
Stats via Georgia Tech
Set 3 (Pitt 2-0)
Pitt took the first point with their usual unbelievable digging to save what against 99% of teams would’ve been a kill. Mogridge and Mendes got Tech to a 4-4 tie, which also included a Anna Boezi block with her replacing Pierce. Pitt went on an immediate eight point run, where at 6-4 the refs missed possible the most obvious double touch call I’ve ever seen, extending a point far too long for a Vazquez Gomez kill. Tech swapped back into their 6-2 rotation with Goolsby and Harper, but still took three points in that run to get a point from a Boezi block to make it 12-5 Pitt. She hit a kill on the next point before Pitt’s next run, which lasted six points, and then went on a 5-1 run to finish the job over Tech 25-8.
Stats & Game Leaders
Stats via Georgia Tech
Game Leaders
Kills: Olivia Babcock (Pitt) – 12
Assists: Rachel Fairbanks (Pitt) – 32
Digs: Olivia Babcock (Pitt) – 10
Points: Olivia Babcock (Pitt) – 14.5
Hit % (min. 10 attempts): Torrey Stafford (Pitt) .500
Blocks: Bre Kelly (Pitt) – 6
Georgia Tech Volleyball next plays this Friday, October 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Notre Dame.