Georgia Tech volleyball downs No. 14 Brigham Young

PROVO, Utah – No. 19 Georgia Tech volleyball (4-1) secured its first ranked victory of the season on Saturday night, taking down No. 14 BYU (4-1) inside a packed Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah. Spectacular team defense and an unrelenting attack from Tamara Otene and Larissa Mendes earned the Yellow Jackets a thrilling five-set victory on the road.

QUICK HITS

• Georgia Tech has defeated at least one Top-15 opponent in each of the last four seasons (since 2021) for the first time in program history.
• This was the 35th Top 25 victory in program history, the 11^th of the Michelle Collier era and the
• Tech has now won four straight non-conference matches against ranked opponents after defeating No. 12 Ohio State (twice) and No. 8 Penn State last season.
• Georgia Tech is just the 10th team to defeat BYU inside Smith Fieldhouse over the last 10 seasons (since 2015). 
• Senior outside hitter Tamara Otene unleashed a season-high 24 kills (4.80/set). She finishes the weekend with a team-best 41 kills (5.125/set) over just two matches.
• Otene secured her team-leading fourth double-double of the season, making 13 digs to go along with her 24 kills.
• Sophomore right side hitter Larissa Mendes produced another incredible offensive performance, finishing with 21 kills. It’s her second 20+ kill match of the young season (23 vs. New Mexico State) after only reaching the 20-kill mark once last year (21 vs. Florida St.).
• Mendes made her 21 kills on .459 hitting. She is hitting .300 or better in all three matches with 25 or more attacks in 2024.
• Senior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino filled the stat sheet, delivering her third double-double of the year with 10 kills, 13 digs, four aces and a block.
• Those four aces bring her career total to 131, tied with Amanda Medrow (1996-99) for the ninth most in program history.
• Tech set a season best with 75 digs tonight. Four different Jackets registered double-digit digs, led by junior libero Sofia Velez (16) alongside Otene (13), Bertolino (13) and sophomore setter Heloise Soares (13).
• Velez has made 10 or more digs in all five of her matches as a Yellow Jacket and in all but one of her 84 career matches played (79 matches at Trinity Valley CC (2022-23)).
• Soares recorded her 2nd-career double-double, finishing with 23 assists and 13 digs.
• Senior setter Luanna Emiliano secured 40 assists, her second 40+ assist night in White & Gold. She narrowly missed out on a double-double of her own, finishing with nine digs.

SET BY SET

Set 1 (GT 21 – BYU 25)

The teams traded points to open the match, tied at 10-10 after seven ties early. BYU used a 3-0 run to take an 18-13 lead, forcing a Tech timeout. Tech came back with some momentum, cutting into the BYU lead, trailing 23-19, and forcing a BYU timeout. The Cougars were able to hold the lead and close the set 25-21, taking a 1-0 lead on the night. Tamara Otene closed set one with seven kills and four digs, while Sofia Velez added four digs of her own.

Set 2 (GT 25 – BYU 20)

Tech claimed the first lead of set two, opening with 3-0 run and holding a 6-2 lead over BYU. The Cougars fought back with points of their own, cutting into the Tech lead and trailing just 15-13 at the media timeout. BYU then evened the score at 16-16, before the Yellow Jackets used a 6-1 run to take a 22-17 lead. The Cougars rallied late, but Tech closed out set two with a 25-20 win, evening the match at 1-1. Larissa Mendes led the Tech attack in set two, totaling six kills on 10 attempts. Heloise Soares held it down on defense, totaling six digs. 

Set 3 (GT 19 – BYU 25)

Set three opened the same as before, with Tech on a 3-0 run. BYU replied with a 3-0 run itself, tying the set. BYU carried that momentum deep into set four, taking a 13-7 lead over the Yellow Jackets. Once BYU had a lead over the Yellow Jackets, they never lost it, despite constant pressure from Tech. BYU used a 6-1 run to close the set, winning set three 25-19. Larissa Mendes carried her momentum into set three, totaling five more kills, while hitting .444.

Set 4 (GT 25 – BYU 20)

The Yellow Jackets took an early lead over the home team, up 6-1 and forcing a BYU timeout. The Cougars came out of the timeout with two quick points, but Tech shut down any momentum and maintained a 9-5 lead. BYU used back-to-back kills to cut into the Tech lead and eventually tied the set at 15-15 and again at 16-16. Tech answered with a 4-1 run, up 20-17 and forcing a BYU timeout. BYU tried to battle back coming out of the timeout, but Tech closed out set four with back-to-back kills from Tamara Otene to win 25-20. Otene finished set four with seven kills, while Larissa Mendes added six of her own. 

Set 5 (GT 15 – BYU 13)

Set five mirrored the rest of the sets, a back-and-forth battle between the Yellow Jackets and the Cougars. BYU had momentum early, taking a 6-3 lead and forcing a Tech timeout. Tech answered with momentum of its own, tying the set at 7-7, before taking a 9-7 lead and forcing a BYU timeout. The set was tied again at 10-10 and 11-11, before Tech used a 3-0 run to take a 14-11 lead. BYU answered with two points of their own, trailing 14-13 and forcing a Tech timeout. Tech closed out the match with a kill from Tamara Otene, her 24th of the match, defeating BYU 3-2. 

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech returns to Atlanta for the third-annual McCamish Pavilion match. The Yellow Jackets will take on No. 10 Florida from McCamish Pavilion at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Tickets can be purchased HERE