GT Volleyball sweeps Florida State 3-0

In a historic day for Georgia Tech Volleyball, the Jackets swept Florida State (25-19, 25-19, 25, 23) for the program’s 900th all-time win. Tech moves to 6-5 (1-1 ACC) on the season and ends a four-match losing streak with a badly needed win.

On paper, this was a close match with Tech the 33rd ranked team per Evollve and Florida State as their 22nd ranked team, the Seminoles a 56% favorite for the match.

Instead what the Noles got was Tech’s best all around game in a month. Tech hit .356 as a team, their best since their last win (Bowling Green). Freshman Mimi Mambu led Tech with 14 kills and only three errors, a significant improvement compared to her recent form.

For Fiderowicz, it was her career day (thus far) earning her first double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs.

For most of the season, head coach Michelle Collier had stuck with a 6-2 rotation where Larissa Mendes and Heloise Soares sub out for Ital Lopuyo and Sara Toth. Over the weekend, she used it only in the third set on Friday, making today the first full game Tech didn’t play Sara Toth in some capacity.

Compared to Friday where Collier would still sub out Mendes to keep her off the back row, Mendes stayed in on all rotations, which from our eye was big in stabilizing the offense and keeping Tech’s best most experienced arm on the court all game. Whether it was due to her or not, Tech’s passing was as good as it’s been all season, leading to Soares able to give good looks to all attackers throughout the game. Mambu, Fiderowicz, and Mendes all finished with at least 12 kills.

How It Happened

Set 1

Both sides took their time settling into the game with three quarters of the points being sideouts through 8-8 until Tech took the first break of the set with a 4-0 run led by two Mambu kills to force FSU’s first timeout down 12-9. The Noles coutered right back on their own four point run to tie at 13-13, forcing Tech’s first timeout. Down 16-14, Collier successfully challenged a missed tip call to revert the score to 15-15, instigating a three point run where FSU called timeout down 17-15.

Tech padded the lead late with a four point run with a Soares block and Velez ace to go up 21-16 and eventually finished off the set with kills by Mendes and Anna Fiderowicz.

Set 2 (1-0 GT)

Florida State got the early punch with a 5-3 lead, and again Collier successfully challenged to tie it up at 5-5. The three point run the review was sandwiched in ended on a accidental touch by Laura Bieleski as she attempted to get out of the way of a ball trailing long. After a series of trading sideouts, Collier again challenged at 9-9 looking for a touch at the net that somehow the entire bench was convinced happened despite the ball flying far too long for a touch to happen. Tech did win three of the next four points to force a Seminole timeout up 12-10.

On the longest rally of the match thus far, Mendes landed a powerful kill center court to keep Tech’s lead at two up 13-11, eventually stretching it to 16-13 on a Bieleski kill, prompting FSU’s second timeout. A very good block by Garibaldi and a strong Fiederowicz kill shifted the lead to 18-15, but a couple FSU points caused Collier to call timeout up 19-17. The timeout worked as wanted as Tech got all the offensive looks they wanted to close out the set with two kills by Mendes and Mambu each, winning 25-19.

Set 3 (2-0 GT)

Up two sets, Tech came out slightly less in sync than in the second set giving up an early lead losing five of six points to go down 6-4. On a point that should’ve made it 8-8, FSU got bailed out on a bad dig by one of the speakers in the ceiling, causing the ball to fall straight back down for an easy set and kill to give the Noles a 9-7 lead.

Garibaldi responded for Tech with a block and kill during a three point run to take a 10-9 lead. Both sides traded sideouts to 14-13 GT when FSU hit their first ace of the set to tie it at 14-14. After Pierce tied it at 15-15, Collier put in Ital Lopuyo for the first time all match to add more height to try and stop an FSU sideout, but the Noles went away from her and got an easy kill.

FSU won a critical two points to go up 19-17, forcing Tech’s first timeout. Fiderowicz and Mambu came in clutch with three side out kills to keep FSU’s lead to one at 21-20, where Collier again put Lopuyo in to stop a sideout. It worked that time as she had the tying kill herself. Tech repeated the same substitution process two more times to the 23-23 tie, where FSU had a horribly untimely service error, leading to Anna Fiderowicz’s 13th kill sealing the game at 25-23.

Stats & Game Leaders

Kills: Iane Henke (FSU): 21

Assists: Heloise Soares (GT): 47

Digs: Sofia Velez (GT): 15

Blocks: Bianca Garibaldi (GT): 5

Takeaways

Blocking: Tech actually led a game in blocks (9-5). If Tech is doing that, something is clearly working well. Knowing today the team communicated as well as they have all season, finding their spots to get blocks is no surprise. Bianca Garibaldi was fantastic in the middle with five blocks to her name.

Mambu’s Best Game: Collier hasn’t hidden it, she knows Mambu can be the best attacker on this team and she’s been given plenty of opportunities. Today was her best day yet. Tech had been falling out of matches in part because of errant attacks, and today Mambu significantly improved on her recent form there. Associate Head Coach Claudio Pinhero multiple times during the game was emphasizing hitting over the ball to Mambu instead of underneath it, and the message looks like it’s starting to click for Mambu.