No. 11 Georgia Tech Forges on to Florida A&M Invitational – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

THE FLATS – No. 11 Georgia Tech volleyball (4-0) will close out its season-opening, three-week road stint at the Florida A&M Invitational this weekend, facing the likes of South Alabama (6-0), Stetson (4-2) and host Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Yellow Jackets will begin the tournament against the Jaguars on Friday at 3 p.m., follow a matchup against the Hatters on Saturday at 6 p.m. and wrap up competition with the hosting Rattlers on Sunday at 2 p.m., all in the Al Lawson Center.

Coverage

• Friday, Sept. 8 | No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. South Alabama | 3 p.m. | Rattlers+ | Watch | Live Stats
• Saturday, Sept. 9 | No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. Stetson | 6 p.m. | Rattlers+ | Watch | Live Stats
• Sunday, Sept. 10 | No. 11 Georgia Tech at Florida A&M | 2 p.m. | Rattlers+ | Watch | Live Stats

Storylines

• The Jackets were ranked No. 11 for the second consecutive week in the AVCA DI Coaches Poll.
• Georgia Tech made the highest leap of teams in the preseason poll to week one as they rose nine spots from their previous rank of No. 20.
• The White and Gold have been listed in 57 straight top 25 polls dating back to 2020, reaching as high as No. 5 during that time, the highest for the program since 2003 and second-best mark all time.
• Starting the season 4-0, Tech followed its third-highest ranked victory in program history over then No. 8 Penn State with a pair of 3-1 wins over previous No. 12 Ohio State.
• The three-consecutive top-15 triumphs marked the first such streak in school history.
•  Two Yellow Jackets earned all-conference honors for the first time in their careers as a result of the momentous weekend as senior libero Paola Pimentel was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week while freshman outside hitter Larissa Mendes was tabbed ACC Co-Freshman of the Week.
• Pimentel anchored the White and Gold’s defense in its second weekend of action, compiling 45 digs over the course of both matches. The seasoned libero came just one dig shy of her career high with 22 on Friday before tying her career high of 23 on Saturday against the highly-touted Buckeyes. Leading the squad in digs through both matches, Pimentel now tops the ACC and is 21st in the NCAA in digs per set (5.13). The floor cleaner owns the third-highest tally for digs in a single match in the conference (23) and is tied for the top two marks in the league in digs through a four-set match (23, 22). Over her career, Pimentel is also 10th in the league in digs per set (3.47).
• Mendes turned heads once again in her second…