Oct. 27, 2017
THE FLATS – Despite a strong start, Georgia Tech volleyball (10-12, 5-6 ACC) fell to Duke (14-8, 6-5 ACC), 3-1 on Friday night in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Head coach Michelle Collier says:
“Duke is a very hard team to stop when they are in system. When we were serving them aggressive we were able to make them uncomfortable but when we stopped putting pressure on them from the service line it made it harder to stop them. Now we have to refocus, and get ready for another challenging match on Sunday.”
How it happened:
Duke took an early lead to start the first but a 4-0 run fueled Tech to a 10-7 advantage. The Blue Devils came back within one at 12-11 but back-to-back kills for the Jackets from sophomore Kodie Comby and freshman Cori Clifton kept Tech on top. That was as close as the Blue Devils would get and the Jackets put away the set at 25-19 on Comby’s seventh kill of the match. Comby hit at a clip of .667 for the set.
Tech came out hot to start the second, jumping to an early lead at 9-5. The Blue Devils made a 5-0 run and overtook the Jackets at 10-9. Tech stayed close, never trailing by more than three and a kill from senior Sydney Wilson tied up the set at 19-19. Duke once again went ahead and this time for good, tying the match at 1-1 by a score of 25-23.
Duke took the lead from the first whistle and despite Tech tying the score at 5-5 and 6-6, the Blue Devils never trailed in the third. After Duke tallied three in a row to take a four-point advantage at 11-7, Tech called a timeout. The Blue Devils came out of the timeout with a 7-2 run and were able to put the set out of reach for the Jackets there. Duke took the 2-1 advantage at 25-14.
The fourth set started out close; the teams coming to a tie at 8-8 before a 5-1 run spurred Duke to a 13-9 lead. Tech called a timeout to regroup and responded with a kill from senior Ashley Askin. Back-to-back kills and a solo block from Wilson brought Tech back within one at 14-13. The Blue Devils responded with another run and Tech took its second timeout, trailing 19-14. Senior Gabriela Stavnetchei came out of the timeout with a kill but it wasn’t enough to get the Jackets going and Duke sealed the match at 25-19.
Up next:
Tech is back on the court at O’Keefe on Sunday to finish out the homestand at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Quick hits:
– Gabriela Stavnetchei tallied her ninth double-double of the season (13 kills, 14 digs).
– Kodie Comby tied her career-high kills with 15
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