GT Volleyball falls in NCAA 1st Round to UCLA

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GT Volleyball falls in NCAA 1st Round to UCLA

December 5, 2025

Bianca Garibaldi (left) and Mimi Mambu (right)

After earning one of the final at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament, Georgia Tech Volleyball falls 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10) to #8-seed UCLA, ending Tech’s season. The Jackets finish with a 16-14 overall record, their first full season with fewer than 20 wins since 2018. It’s the first time Tech has exited the NCAA Tournament in the first round since 2009 back in the Mary Ashley Tippins era.

UCLA easily had the best player on the floor in Marianna Singletary, who hit 22 kills on a truly insane .556 hit percentage, plus had a rare kill/block double-double with 11 blocks to her name.

Tech’s Noemi Despaigne was their leading scorer at 18 kills but 12 errors. Tech in total finished with 36 attack errors to UCLA’s 20. Despaigne and Bianca Garibaldi both finished with six blocks apiece to lead Tech.

For a team that barely snuck into the tournament, taking a seeded team to five sets is nothing to shake our heads at. As we’ve said over and over again between Scions of the Southland and our recaps, this team never got to play at full strength this year and only lost players thoughout the year. Collier had to make the core of Sofia Velez, Heloise Soares, Anna Fiedorowicz (freshman), Bianca Garibaldi (was a backup at Pitt last year), Laura Bieleski (freshman), Noemi Despaigne (freshman), Annika Groom (freshman), Mimi Mambu (freshman), and DeAndra Pierce (the one 5th year player who played) work or else this season was a goner.

Knowing this team manged to make the tournament and almost everyone will return (we say with no idea what’s going to happen in the transfer portal), Michelle Collier no doubt will have a team good enough to make the NCAA Tournament again next year for a program record 7th consecutive year.

How It Happened

Set 1

Tech took the early lead in the match with an ace from Bianca Garibaldi plus kills from Mimi Mambu and DeAndra Pierce for a 7-4 lead. UCLA hit a three point run to tie it at 7-7 that Tech stopped there. At 10-10, Tech head coach Michelle Collier successfully challenged a mistaken out call off a Fiedorowicz block, giving Tech an 11-9 lead. Tech found another little run from there, going up 15-12 at the first media timeout.

Out of that timeout, UCLA went on a 7-2 run as Tech’s passing diminished and afforded fewer good looks, prompting Tech’s first timeout down 19-17.

After Tech won a point to go down 21-19, UCLA challenged, was given the point, then Tech called timeout, but during their timeout the refs went back on their decision, giving Tech the point back (but not their timeout) and followed it up with a block by Garibaldi to make it 21-20, forcing the Bruins’s first timeout. That all took what felt like 10 minutes.

Garibaldi recorded another block on the next point, tying it to start a series of ties up to 23-23 before a Marianna Singletary kill gave UCLA set point. Tech countered winning the next three points to take the set 26-24 in Tech’s favor. Bianca Garibaldi finished the set with 5 blocks to her name.

Set 2 (1-0 GT)

UCLA had all the control in the front part of the set going on back-to-back three point runs to go up 7-2 and forcing Tech’s first timeout early, and then a third to make it 10-4. Tech got it to a five point deficit at 10-5 but couldn’t hold up with UCLA’s offensive firepower for the rest of the set as they extended their lead up to 8 points at 20-12. Tech did win nine of the last 14 points but was too behind to stop UCLA before they took the set 25-19.

Set 3 (1-1)

UCLA came out running again in the third, going on a five point run to make it 5-1 and then forced Tech’s first timeout up 8-2. Tech slowly clawed back to a two point deficit down 10-8 and held the gap there for a series of back and forths to 13-11. From there, Tech went on their longest run of the match, a seven point run with good serving from Garibaldi and a mix of UCLA errors to go up 17-13 and in the driver’s seat for the set.

UCLA shrunk Tech’s lead to two points on multiple occassions as late as 21-19 before a couple points from Garibaldi put the Jackets up 23-20, forcing UCLA’s second timeout. UCLA won the next two points, the second where Tech was completely out of sorts in passing and called their final timeout up 23-22. Garibaldi and Mambu kills gave Tech the set 25-23 in a set where UCLA hit .407 and Tech hit .303.

Set 4 (2-1 GT)

The first half of the fourth set had a pattern going with Tech and UCLA trading sideouts up to 15-14 save for only three times either team scored two points in a row. It was Tech’s best elongated stretch of the match hitting .368 up to the media timeout with kills largely by Anna Fiedorowicz and Noemi Despaigne. At 16-16, UCLA went on three point run, forcing Tech’s first timeout down 19-16. The run extended to 21-16 before a great Mambu kill stopped the run, their first cohesive point of that entire stretch. Tech gave the next two points away on a service error and a serve return error by Despaigne. The Bruins eventually took the set easily 25-18.

Set 5 (2-2)

Despaigne scored Tech’s first couple points to draw it even at 2-2 before she was blocked on the next point and Maggie Li landed a kill to make it 4-2 UCLA, where Tech called their first timeout. Tech kept the deficit close until at 7-6 UCLA, the Bruins succesfully challenged a no-touch call, making it 8-5 and eventually stretching the lead to 10-6 where Tech called their final timeout. Needing to go all out, Tech couldn’t hit the risky shots they needed to land and fell 15-10, ending their season. Tech hit -.034 in the 5th set.