OXFORD, Miss. – No. 9 Georgia Tech volleyball (2-0) outmatched No. 17 Illinois (0-1) in a sweep of its first ranked foe of the year in a neutral match at the Ole Miss Invitational on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets concluded the tournament as the lone undefeated squad after topping host Ole Miss, 3-1, on Friday.
The White and Gold’s dominant performance was reflected on paper as the Jackets maintained the advantage in kills (38-36), hitting percentage (.287-.179), aces (5-0), digs (32-27) and blocks (8-4).
Senior outside hitter Julia Bergmann once more led the Jackets overall, notching her first double double of the season behind team highs of 12 kills and 11 digs along with a pair of blocks. The decorated Yellow Jacket continues to rewrite the Tech record books as she moved up to seventh in program history in career aces with 133 to date.
Senior middle blocker Erin Moss was also a key cog in Tech’s explosive offense on the day with 10 kills at a blistering .533 clip. Defensively, graduate middle blocker Breland Morrissette anchored the White and Gold with a career-high tying six blocks while pitching in on the offensive side with eight kills of her own. Junior setter Bella D’Amico ran the point for Tech’s offense, coming away with 29 assists.
How it Happened
Georgia Tech got going early against Illinois, using a five-point run to speed ahead, 8-4. The Fighting Illini would bounce back to even things up, but the Yellow Jackets responded by taking five of the next six points to separate once more, leading 13-9. One final Tech run of three put the set of reach, 18-13, as the White and Gold rolled onto a 25-21 first-set win capped by a Bergmann kill.
The second set was much of the same for the Jackets as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Georgia Tech pressed forward as a three-point run, including a kill and ace by Bergmann, propelled the White and Gold to a 19-10 lead. The Yellow Jackets finished off the dominant second set with a double-digit victory, 25-15.
Illinois battled back in the third set, keeping the match neck-and-neck as neither side managed to separate by more than a point up to a 15 all score line. Georgia Tech’s offense erupted from there, overwhelming the Illini with a 10-2 run to secure a 25-17 set three win and match sweep.
Up Next
The Jackets will make their official return to O’Keefe Gymnasium hosting the GT Invitational, beginning with Dayton (Sept. 2).
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