#19 GT Volleyball reverse swept by #6 Stanford

I’m so mad

O’KEEFE GYMNASIUM — In #6 Stanford’s first ever trip to Georgia Tech, the Jackets were reverse swept for the third straight time, losing 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 18-25, 12-15) despite having two match points to sweep the Cardinal in the third set.

Stanford was on their third of three road games dating back to Friday when they faced Duke in Durham, NC, meaning if Tech ever was going to have a chance to beat them, this was the time. Stanford up until the 23-20 Tech lead in the third set looked tired and rough around the edges as if they had played a bunch of road games in a row.

But, in what was the last home game for Bianca Bertolino, DeAndra Pierce, and Tamara Otene amongst others, we got the same story we’ve seen too many times at the end of this season, a team that only can run 90% of the race before falling over. They have the firepower to win, but lack the closing speed to confidently put away teams when they have the chance. That is not a trait you want to see going into the NCAA Tournament, where Tech at this point at best will be a #2 seed.

Something has to turn in the mentality of this team in set 4’s when they’re up 2-1. Today, by no means were they out of it when Stanford snuck away with the third set. They were playing to their level and had a path to victory. Tech though can just lose themselves in a match when things are going the wrong way, which, keep in mind, these are developing adults for the most part. These are tough situations to put young adults in. It’s not the end of the world if they lose, but they will be the first to tell you they know they can be better in situations like this. They made a turn last year against Florida in the NCAA Tournament. We’ll see if they can do it again.

Tech next plays against the #1 team in the country, Pittsburgh, on Saturday. If somehow Tech finds a way to win that, it would be the most impressive win in program history.

How It Happened

Set 1

Getting to the first set media timeout, Tech led 15-12, but got seven of those points from Stanford service errors, putting Stanford ahead 10-8 in terms of points played out on the court early on. Both Larissa Mendes and Heloise Soares got early runs, including being on the floor during Tech’s first run of points (four). Tech’s offense really got into clean shape after then, doing a great job of keeping Stanford off balance with shot selection getting kills from all the main hitters, forcing a Cardinal timeout up 19-15. Even though only losing three of the next five points to get to 21-18, Tech still called a timeout preemptively. A Bertolino and Otene kill prompted Stanford’s second timeout two points later. At set point 24-20, Stanford was able to steal a couple points to force Tech’s final timeout, but Otene got the job done to win it 25-22.

Set 2 (1-0 GT)

The whole first half of the set was a deadlock with Stanford only going up as many as two points. Collier singlehandedly kept Tech’s margin that close as she hit on back to back challenges to turn what would’ve been a 10-6 game into an 8-8 game. After a Liv Mogridge kill that deflected off a light fixture, Tech broke away with a four point run to go up 14-11. Mendes then got three kills all to stop potential Stanford runs but keep Tech slightly ahead up to 18-16. A Bertolino ace stretched the lead to three and forced Stanford’s first timeout at 21-18 GT. Bertolino hit another ace and Otene hit the right baseline (she missed a similar shot earlier in the set) to force the second Cardinal timeout at set point. Otene closed out the set a couple points later at 25-20.

Set 3 (2-0 GT)

Much akin to the second set, both teams were in lockstep up to the 15 point break. Stanford this time had to use the challenge card to keep themselves close, successfully winning two of three challenges to keep it a one point game at 12-11 before Tech went on a three point run for a 15-11 lead. Stanford immediately clawed back after the media timeout, winning six of the next eight points during which Soares mistimed a couple sets for Wiley before Collier called timeout at 17-17. Tech got another three point run to get up 22-19 before Otene slammed a thunderous kill that put O’Keefe into a frenzy. Stanford found their footing right there, scoring six of the next seven points to take the set 26-24.

Set 4 (2-1 GT)

Stanford kept rolling from the massive momentum swing at the end of the third, quickly running ahead with multiple runs to go up 10-5 and Tech eventually calling timeout down 12-6. Tech started to chip away at the lead, getting a point here and there on serve. Stanford rolled Tech easily, winning 25-18.

Set 5 (2-2)

I don’t wanna talk about it. Stanford 15-12.

Stats & Game Leaders

Game Leaders

Kills: Tamara Otene (GT) – 26

Assists: Kami Miner (Stanford) – 50

Digs: Sofia Velez (GT) – 17

Points: Tamara Otene (GT) – 27.5

Hit % (min. 10 attempts): Ipar Kurt (Stanford)/Sami Francis (Stanford) – .381%

Blocks: Sami Francis (Stanford) – 11