Coming off sweeping the North Carolina State Wolfpack, the Jackets hosted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in O’Keefe Gymnasium with hopes to extend their winning streak to five games. Despite the winning streak, things have been far from easy for Tech this year. Ever since sophomores Heloise Soares and Larissa Mendes went down with injuries, head coach Michelle Collier has been hard-pressed to effectively replace their impact. Specifically, Mendes’ absence on the right side has been difficult to manage. However, Coach Collier seems to have found a winning formula with her recent roster decisions. In the past couple of matches, Collier has turned to sophomore middle-blocker Liv Mogridge to shift to right-side and has played freshman middle-blocker Logan Wiley to fill Mogridge’s traditional position. This change has provided the spark that the Jackets needed and has proved to be an overwhelming success.
The opening set against the Demon Deacons began back-and-forth with teams trading points until the 7-7 marker. Then, Wake Forest opened a marginal lead, winning four of the next five points on a service run by junior outside hitter Paige Crawford. Collier called her first timeout of the set to calm her team down and get them back on track. Collier’s timeout proved successful — the Jackets were able to fight from behind and tie the set at 14. From then, Mogridge and senior outside-hitter Bianca Bertolino took over and finished the set with five kills each, both hitting above .400. Tech also received production from the middles — both Wiley and senior middle blocker Deandra Pierce tallied three kills in the set. While the set was extremely close, a kill from senior outside-hitter Tamara Otene closed set one for the Jackets winning 25-22.
Set two played out similarly to the first set but ended in disappointment. After the set was tied up a total of 11 times with seven lead changes, Tech fell into a hitting slump that prevented them from winning the second set. Unlike the opening set, where the Jackets hit .318 as a team, Tech hit an abysmal .093 in the second set, including a -.067 percentage on 15 attempts from Otene. The highlight of the second set for the Jackets was once again the play from the middles. Again, both Wiley and Pierce had three kills apiece and both hit over .500.
After the second set hitting woes, the Jackets returned to the first set’s success and hit great right out of the gate in the third. Most notably, the Jackets defense was great, shrinking Wake Forest’s hitting percentage to just .125, the lowest set total of the match. It didn’t take long for Tech to open a third set lead, and once they did, they didn’t hold back. Tied at 6-6, the Jackets then won 10 of the next 12 points to establish a commanding lead that was too much for the Deacons to overcome. Specifically, Bertolino had eight kills on a .571 hitting percentage to lead the way for the Jackets, and Mogridge had four from the right-side position. Overall, a dominant set for the Jackets put them right back in control of the match and in contention for a fifth straight ACC victory.
The fourth set began, and after trading points early, it looked like the Jackets were going to cruise for a 3-1 victory over the Deacs. Tech extended a 20-12 lead, and it looked like just a formality, but then the Deacons came alive. They won seven of the next ten points and the loyal fans in O’Keefe were on edge, anxiously hoping the Jackets could close the match out. With the Jackets faltering, senior leader Bertolino stepped up and got the Jackets the last two kills needed to close the Deacs out and win the fourth set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Sunday’s match against Wake Forest was full of career highs. In her new role, Mogridge totaled 14 kills, replacing her previous record of 13 set two years ago, and senior setter Luanna Emiliano eclipsed 51 assists, breaking her previous record of 48 set just a week before. Defensively, junior libero Sofia Velez recorded 20 digs, while also tallying a career high in assists with seven. Both Velez and Emiliano have been excellent and integral additions from the transfer portal for the Jackets. Bertolino added 19 kills combined with 16 from Otene. Also, Wiley tallied nine while making zero hitting errors, and only swinging 16 times.
The Jackets will travel up to the Research Triangle to face off against both Duke and UNC this upcoming weekend. Then, the Jackets will head west, to face off against new ACC additions Stanford and California before returning to Atlanta for a short home stand. The Jackets sit 16th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings and look poised to make another NCAA tournament run.