Jackets Sweep Lipscomb for Collier’s 200th win at GT – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

PROVO, Utah – No. 19 Georgia Tech volleyball (3-1) wasted little time on Friday night, dispatching of Lipscomb (2-3) in three sets with identical scores: 25-16, 25-16, 25-16. Senior outside hitter Tamara Otene was the catalyst from the very start, finishing with 17 kills on .517 hitting and 12 digs as the Yellow Jackets claimed their second straight sweep and head coach Michelle Collier’s 200^th victory at Georgia Tech.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 25 – Lipscomb 16)

The Jackets got off to a great start thanks to a pair of aces from Mogridge to make it 3-1 out of the gates. The Jackets maintained that pressure from the service line, forcing Lipscomb into uncomfortable attacks and clapping back with furious swings of their own. The Bisons managed to cut the lead to 13-10, only for Tech to respond with a 6-2 run, returning to the comfort of a seven-point lead (19-12). Another late kill from Otene helped seal the set, 25-16, a score that would become awful familiar over the next hour of play. Otene was all over the court from the start, finishing the first set with six kills and six digs while hitting .500 and adding an ace while Tech held Lipscomb to .000 hitting.

Set 2 (GT 25 – Lipscomb 16)

Lipscomb seemed intent on keeping it close in the second set, working to a 7-7 tie in the beginning. But all that went away thanks to three excellent runs of serve from Emiliano, Bertolino and sophomore setter Heloise Soares. The three of them sent Tech on a 10-3 scoring run, putting the Jackets in control, 19-11, a lead they would maintain to the end of the set, 25-16. GT’s serving led to a multitude of free balls from Lipscomb, helping Tech hit a staggering .444 as a team in the second. Emiliano and Soares did a great job of spreading the offense with five different Jackets registering multiple kills. None more impressive than Otene, who led the offense with five kills on seven swings (.714 hitting). For the second set in a row, she led the team in digs, this time only needing three, tied for the most with Velez.

Set 3 (GT 25– Lipscomb 16)

The Bisons came out firing in the third, jumping in front, 8-12. But Tech showed its resilience, tying the match back at 13, thanks in part to yet another strong service run from Soares. The set was still in doubt, up 17-16, when Bertolino stepped up to the service line to lead Tech on an 8-0 scoring run, vanquishing all Lipscomb hopes and handing them a third straight 25-16 result. Bertolino made back-to-back aces on that run to…