Oct. 2, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Behind 19 kills and 14 digs from freshman Monique Mead, the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (10-4, 4-0 ACC) upset 17th-ranked Florida State (12-2, 3-1), 3-2 (19-25, 27-25, 15-25, 27-25, 16-14) Friday night at Tully Gym. The Yellow Jackets join Duke as the only two teams still undefeated in ACC play.
Tech handed FSU just it’s second loss of the season and snapped a 10-match winning streak. The Seminoles’ only other loss this season was to No. 8 Florida in five sets. It was Georgia Tech’s first win on the road against a ranked team since beating No. 5 Nebraska 3-2 on Sept. 14, 2003.
“I’m very proud of our kids for battling hard all night,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “They fought, scratched and clawed against a very good Florida State team. They never laid down tonight and left everything out on the floor. Our kids played with a lot of heart against a ranked team in front of their fans after not playing well on the road this year and that says a lot for the improvements we continue to make. We can’t celebrate this win too long, however. Now, we need to get ready for a very good Miami team on Sunday.”
For Mead, this marked her fifth double-double of the season as she had a .222 hitting percentage and also added three of Tech’s eight service aces on the night. Sophomore Bailey Hunter recorded double-figure kills for the 12th straight match as she had 14 to go along with five digs. Senior Chrissy DeMichelis chipped in with 11 kills, five total blocks (three solo) and four digs for the Yellow Jackets. Junior Mary Ashley Tippins hit .571 on the night as she contributed with four kills, eight digs and 49 assists. Junior Jordan McCullers also added 14 digs for the Jackets, who continue their Florida swing Sunday afternoon at Miami (1 p.m.).
In the first set, Tech trailed 13-10 until three straight blocks enabled it to tie FSU at 13. The Seminoles came back, however, and used a 7-3 run to take its largest lead of the set at four points, 20-16, and force Georgia Tech to use a timeout. The Jackets were unable to cut into their deficit and FSU won the set, 25-19, and took a 1-0 lead for the match.
In the second set, the Yellow Jackets came out on fire and took a 10-4 lead. Florida State began to chip away and got within two points before consecutive kills by senior Chrissy DeMichelis made it a 16-12 score. Once again, the Seminoles came charging back and got within a point at 18-17. The two teams traded the next couple of points until back-to-back errors by the Yellow Jackets tied the set at 21. Tech used a timeout after the Seminoles erased a deficit as big as six points. After the timeout, FSU took its first lead of the set, but Tech came storming back with two straight points to re-take the lead and force the Seminoles into a timeout.
Tech had a 24-23 advantage, but back-to-back FSU points gave it set point at 25-24. A kill by senior Brittany Roderick tied it up and following a FSU error, freshman Susan Carlson’s service ace won the set for the Jackets and sent them to the locker room all tied at one in the match.
Florida State opened the third set on a huge run and raced out to a 13-4 lead after it was tied 3-3. The Yellow Jackets used two timeouts during the 10-1 run, but were unable to slow down the `Noles. Tech never got any closer than nine points and lost, 25-15.
The fourth set was close as the two teams traded point after point. A block by DeMichelis gave Tech a two-point lead at 14-12, but once again FSU answered right back. The Seminoles came back to take their own two-point lead, but this time it was the Jackets’ turn to answer and tie the set at 18 and force a FSU timeout.
The next several points went back and forth until FSU opened up a three-point edge at 23-20. Tech would not be denied as a FSU error and then a kill by Mead made it a 23-22 score. FSU then had match point at 24-23 before a DeMichelis kill tied the set again. The Yellow Jackets fought off another match point and soon had their own set point at 26-25. Following a time-out, Mead gave the Jackets the win with a service ace and sent the match to a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth set, Tech jumped out to a 5-2 lead. FSU got within a point at 5-4 but the Jackets kept up the intensity and soon led by a score of 11-7 as the Seminoles used a timeout. FSU would not go down without a fight and reeled off a couple quick points to make it 12-10 as the Jackets used a timeout to slow down the Seminoles’ momentum.
Following the timeout, FSU scored two more points as it used a 4-0 run to quickly tie the Jackets up at 12. It was later 14-14 when a Seminole error and Mead ace gave the Jackets the come-from-behind win and helped them remain in first place.
The Yellow Jackets will remain in the Sunshine State and head south to take on Miami, Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available at www.RamblinWreck.com through Gametracker.
