On Sunday afternoon, Georgia Tech came up short, losing 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23) to #5 Pittsburgh. Tech falls below .500 to 6-7 (1-3 ACC) and have lost six of their last seven matches.
Despite the loss, Freshman outside hitter Anna Fiedorowicz racked up 14 kills, sophomore middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi finished with seven block assists, and junior setter Heloise Soares had 11 digs. The overall kill leader at 25 was Pittsburgh junior right-side hitter and 2024 ACC Player of the Year Olivia
Babcock. Garibaldi and Pittsburgh redshirt senior middle blocker Bre Kelley tied for the lead in blocks with eight each.
The first set started with a bang for Tech. Fiedorowicz immediately put points on the board for the Jackets with two consecutive service aces. From there, though, it was back and forth between the two teams.
The reigning NCAA champion Panthers were out for blood, taking set one with sophomore libero Mallorie Meyer serving for seven points and around two Georgia Tech timeouts before Tech could sideout. Unfortunately, that change didn’t last long. The Jackets and Panthers fought through the final few points before the Panthers took the set with a final score of 25-17.
Set two had a messy start for the Jackets, allowing Babcock to get rolling. The Yellow Jackets were able to regroup and handle several volleys and deliver kills to make it a tight set. The errors got the better of the Jackets, however, allowing the Panthers to take set two 25-19.
Set three started with points for Georgia Tech and an unsuccessful challenge by Pittsburgh. The Jackets made several major plays led by Garibaldi’s blocking. One of the blocks broke their tie at 9-9 for Georgia Tech to pull ahead again, allowing the Jackets to capitalize on a point differential the Panthers weren’t quite able to close before set point, forcing Pittsburgh to a fourth set. Freshman outside hitter Lameen Mambu delivered the kill, solidifying the Jackets set victory at 21-25.
Garibaldi started the Jackets off strong with a kill to open set four, setting the tone for the rest of the set. Tensions were high in Fitzgerald Field House after several contentious calls by the officials and two successful challenges by Georgia Tech. The serve went back and forth before Mambu came through with two kills ahead of the first challenge, broken up by Babcock, though the Jackets made sure to not fall behind throughout the rest of the set. The Panthers fought tooth-and-nail, managing to tie the set at 23-23 with a kill by Babcock. Georgia Tech took a timeout before Pittsburgh made the final two kills to pull ahead and take the match.
The Jackets come back home to Atlanta on Friday, October 10 to face the Duke University Blue Devils back at O’Keefe Gymnasium for a sold-out Alumni Night match.
