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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Rivals250 Fla. LB Elijah Melendez recaps weekend GT trip


Georgia Tech will make the top ten, and currently they find themselves in the top half of the top half of that list.

GTVB: No. 11 Jackets Battle Past Cavaliers in Five



Tech comes out on top in third straight five-setter of conference play



Box Score | Season Stats



CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.
— No. 11 Georgia Tech volleyball (14-2, 5-1 ACC) returned to its winning ways by staving off Virginia (8-8, 1-5 ACC) in five sets (25-11, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13) on Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium. The Yellow Jackets earned the 3-2 triumph after starting the match with their highest set margin of victory of the season in the first set, 25-11.



Senior outside hitter Tamara Otene put in yet another spectacular performance as she became the 13th Yellow Jacket in program history to join the 20/20 double double club with 20 kills and a career-high 20 digs, hitting at a .349 clip while adding three aces. The New Zealand native earned her ninth double double of the season as she spearheaded the White and Gold in both phases.



Junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino joined her with a well-rounded performance of her own, adding 14 kills and 14 aces on top of four blocks for her fifth double double on the year. Freshman right side hitter Larissa Mendes completed the three-headed brace on both ends, pitching in 17 kills and six digs while tying Bertolino for the team lead with four blocks.



Efficient attackers with career days of their own included junior middle blockers DeAndra Pierce and Kali Engeman, who both hit above .500 as Pierce turned in a personal-best 10 kills at a .500 clip while Engeman earned her first collegiate kill, going on to finish with five kills on a team-best .625 hitting percentage.



The offense was primarily run through freshman setter Heloise Soares with a career-high 45 assists. Senior libero Paola Pimentel cleaned up the back end defensively with a team-high 22 digs for her seventh 20+ dig match of the season.



The Yellow Jackets held advantages on paper in most major categories as a unit, leading the way in kills (72-57), hitting percentage (.271-.192), assists (66-52) and digs (82-69).



How it Happened

Georgia Tech took over early in set one as Otene fueled a four-point run with a kill and an ace to push the Yellow Jackets in front, 8-3. Another burst of three with a pair of kills from the recently subbed graduate middle blocker Afedo Manyang increased the advantage to 11-4, and the White and Gold continued to roll with another stretch of five for an 18-7 lead. Tech would take another four straight to put the set out of reach at 23-9, closing out the first set soon after, 25-11.



Virginia turned things around in set two as it remained competitive throughout. An early run of three by the Yellow Jackets for a 5-4 lead would be the most either squad could string together as they went back and forth until Tech used a burst of four to take a 19-17 lead. Still, the Cavaliers would continue to fight, rallying late to take the final six points and steal the second set, 25-21.



The White and Gold burst out of the gates in set three, taking five of the first six points and later using a five-point stretch to move further in front, 12-6. The Hoos would once more battle back, drawing within a point at a 17-16 Jacket advantage, but Georgia Tech used a final streak of five to take control of the set, 24-18, before finishing the set on top, 25-21.



The Yellow Jackets were successful early once more starting set four, taking three of the first four points and pressing onto a 7-3 lead. As Virginia found its footing and drew near, the Cavaliers caught fire to string together eight straight, turning the tables for a 15-10 advantage. Tech would respond as the two sides traded blows until the White and Gold put together five straight points to knot the set at 19 all. The Hoos would take five of the next six points to reach set point, and despite the Jackets taking back a pair, Virginia sent the match to five sets with a 25-22 win.



With all sides even, Georgia Tech got going in the final set with a three-point run for a 3-1 lead. The Yellow Jackets would push up to a 5-3 advantage, but the Cavaliers answer with three of their own to move in front, 6-5. From there, the two sides went back and forth until the White and Gold used another streak of three to flip the lead in their favor, 11-10. As Mendes earned six of Tech’s points in the paramount set, the Brazilian added five of the Jackets’ final six as she swung on two kills in succession for a 13-11 advantage before clinching the match with yet another kill, securing a 15-13 fifth set victory and 3-2 match triumph.



Up Next

Georgia Tech will return home for a four-match homestand, beginning with Florida State (12-6, 6-0 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. and closing the weekend with Miami (11-5, 4-2 ACC) next Sunday at 1 p.m., both in O’Keefe Gymnasium.

  • Poll
FOOTBALL Week 6 Record Predictions

What will be our regular season record at the end of this season?

  • 3-9

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4-8

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • 5-7

    Votes: 15 20.3%
  • 6-6

    Votes: 39 52.7%
  • 7-5

    Votes: 16 21.6%
  • 8+ wins

    Votes: 3 4.1%

Stepping away from the cliff a bit after last night’s performance. I said preseason we’d go 6-6. After BG I said 4-8. If we can just show some consistency and beat the teams we need to and maybe some more Miami Magic, beat a Clemson or UNC we could get that 6-6. Im back on the .500 bus.

FOOTBALL OT: Week Six games!

We have some good ones this week.

LSU at Missouri - how much heat will Kelley be in if he loses this one? Is Missouri good, or just feasting on a weak schedule?

Oklahoma v Texas - I got Texas because you can’t fool me with Ted Roof as your DC, Venables.

Maryland v OSU - this one I think will be closer than people think. This version of OSU doesn’t look that dominant and the Maryland QB is legit.

Kentucky at UGA - guys I am thinking this is a loss for UGA.


What do you guys think? Any other interesting games?

FOOTBALL Post-Game Notes from GT

Postgame Notes

Team Notes

· Georgia Tech recovered a fumble on its own 26 yard line with 26 seconds to go in the game, then drove 74 yards in four plays, capped by a 44-yard touchdown pass from r-So. QB Haynes King to Jr. WR Christian Leary with one second left to lift the Yellow Jackets to a heart-stopping 23-20 win over No. 17 Miami (Fla.).

· With the win, Georgia Tech evened its record at 3-3 overall on the season and moved to 2-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

· Miami lost for the first time this season to fall to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play.

· The win was Georgia Tech’s third-straight road victory over a nationally ranked ACC opponent (prev.: 26-21 at Pitt on Oct. 1, 2022 and 21-17 at No. 13/11 North Carolina on Nov. 19, 2022).

· Georgia Tech won for the second time in its last three games at Miami. Prior to its 28-21 overtime win over the Hurricanes on Oct. Oct. 19, 2019, Georgia Tech had been 0-5 all-time vs. Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.

· Georgia Tech evened its all-time record vs. Miami at 14-14, but beat the Hurricanes for just fourth time in the last 14 meetings.

· Miami’s 20 points were its fewest of the season (prev.: 38 vs. Miami (Ohio) – Sept. 1).

· Georgia Tech held Miami to three points in the first half. The Hurricanes came into the game averaging 23.8 first-half points per game.

· Georgia Tech is the first Miami opponent to hold the Hurricanes scoreless in the first quarter of a game this season.

· Miami’s 453 yards of total offense were its second-lowest total of the season (season low: 451 vs. Texas A&M – Sept. 9).



Individual Notes


· Leary’s touchdown reception was his second at Georgia Tech (prev.: 11 yards vs. Bowling Green last Saturday) and the third of his collegiate career (he also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass as a true freshman for Alabama vs. Arkansas on Nov. 20, 2021).

· r-Sr. LB Paul Moala forced the fumble that was recovered by DL Kyle Kennard with 26 seconds remaining in the game. The forced fumble was Moala’s first as a Yellow Jacket and the third of his collegiate career (he had one for Idaho in 2022 and one for Notre Dame in 2019).

· r-Jr. WR Dominick Blaylock’s 34-yard reception in the third quarter was his longest as a Yellow Jacket (prev.: 23 vs. South Carolina State – Sept. 9).

· Jr. DB LaMiles Brooks’ interception in the second quarter was his first of the season and fourth of his career.

· r-So. DB Ahmari Harvey’s interception in the third quarter was the first of his career (14th career game).

· r-Sr. DB Jaylon King’s interception in the fourth quarter was his team-leading third of the season and fifth of his career.

· King’s 66-yard interception return was the longest by a Yellow Jacket since current Dallas Cowboy Juanyeh Thomas’ 95-yard INT return at Louisville on Oct. 5, 2018.

· r-Jr. DB K.J. Wallace’s forced fumble on the final play of the game (which was recovered by r-Sr. DB Myles Sims to seal the victory) was his second forced fumble of the season and his career (prev.: at Wake Forest – Sept. 23).
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