After the sweep against Florida at McCamish Pavilion, the Jackets went on the road to Athens, GA to face the u[sic]GA. Senior setter Ashlyn Goolsby reflects on the season thus far and the team’s dynamics with the Technique.
One of the most fundamental motivations for Goolsby is tradition. Growing up in a Tech family, she is all too familiar with Clean, Old-Fashioned hate. “I have it instilled in my mind that Georgia Tech is superior so we need to win,” she said. Her father was a member of the Tech football team that won the 1990 championship and beat u[sic]GA in the playoff semifinals whiler her mother and grandfather are also proud Tech alums. When describing how the team fosters the rivalry with u[sic]GA, Goolsby said, “I think it’s fun that we have a lot of international players on our team. During the week we get to teach them, and instill in them that we’re Georgia Tech and we hate u[sic]GA. [In preparation for the big game] . . . everyone learns the fight song, and the freshmen and transfers perform the fight song for us”.
From one family to another, she mentions how the team and coaching staff have “influenced . . . [her] . . . growth as a volleyball player”. Goolsby had some great assists against Florida at McCamish and came in on a few rotations in the first set against u[sic]GA. “It’s been a great opportunity to learn from my coaches, they’re volleyball fanatics, [and] they’ve been around the sport for so long”. It’s clear that the team chemistry has grown and connections between teammates becoming more seamless as the Jackets continue their success. Goolsby highlights how members “learn from each other . . . [becoming] mini coaches for each other”.
The Jackets have begun the pre-conference season with an 8-1 start. While they were able to take the Bulldogs in the Stegeman Coliseum, they lost to them last year in McCamish. “I think last year was a big loss that was a really big disappointment. . . .it was a big upset for them”, Goolsby said. Georgia won the second, third, and fourth sets with a total of fifteen team blocks. While blocks are just the same as any other point, a good block builds a team up in energy, or tears a team down. Compared to last year the Bulldogs only had six blocks while the Jackets had seven team blocks. Headed into the match Goolsby said, “it’s a big opportunity, not only because they are Georgia and we have that rivalry, but they’re also a really good volleyball team, so that’s exciting”. Nearing the end of pre-conference play, the Jackets proved how much they have improved and how much further they aim to progress in this season.
The match against u[sic]GA marks the eighth consecutive win for the Jackets in the season. In the first set, the u[sic]GA block was a huge hurdle as well as tremendous kills from graduate Sofie Fischer and sophomore Bianna Muoneke. The Jackets were able to get going a bit towards the end, but proved to be too late. The second set began with back-and-forth game play, but Tech found motivation, taking a strong lead into the second set. They went from a 7-10 lead to 14-25 set win. The team found success through senior outside hitter Tamara Otene’s seven killer swings and six massive digs. The team averaged at 73% efficiency compared to the 43% of set one. Similarly, the Jackets broke away taking a six point lead after a strategic time out by Coach Michelle Collier in set three. Senior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino led the team with eight kills and Otene with six of her own as well as six digs. The fourth set was a combination of the strategies that brought the Jackets success throughout the night. Closing off the match with a 14-25 win, the team had distributed success between the middle and pin hitters. Senior setter Luanna Emiliano had a whopping 101 total assists with an amazing 45% success rate, a difficult result to achieve. Though it took a little bit of the time to get going, the Jackets showed their true colors as they took down the Bulldogs.
Pre-conference play is known to be the time when teams finalize line up, strengthen strategy, and carve out their identity for the season. Reflecting on last season’s success and eventually losing to Nebraska, spoke about how lessons “just transferred over”. “We learned a lot more, [and we’re] still learning a lot as the season ramps up. Focusing on the six-two vs the five-one, Goolsby highlights the strategic use case of each formation. In the six-two, “you always have three hitters in the front row and we also [get to] utilize the back row hitter as well, so we have a really strong offense right now with the six-two”. Comparatively, “the five one also has benefits, you can move the middle around more and on the slide, and the setter can also be considered an attacker”. As a setter, Goolsby rotated into the five-one with strong connections with senior right side Laura Fisher and TOtene in set one. Overall, “they both have benefits, I think we saw the six-two working out really strong for us in those wins against BYU and Florida” and now against u[sic]GA.
The Jackets are still tweaking their game-strategy, but they have proven once again, they are not a team to be taken lightly. While the u[sic]GA game did mean a little something more to the players, their drive to play at the highest level was spotlighted this past weekend. “I think we’re all working to have a high standard of play in the gym [by] making adjustments in both our line up and how we are playing”, Goolsby said. It’s clear how the culture of the players and coaches, and the traditions of the Institute have bonded together to propel game play this season. Tech solidifies their No. 13 ranking this week as they look to face SMU on Friday and Pitt, currently ranked first among NCAA teams, on Sunday. When it comes to motivation, team spirit, and tradition, Goolsby and the team know how to succeed.