Oct. 26, 2012
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Georgia Tech volleyball team fell to Maryland, 3-2 (31-29, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 7-15), on Friday night at the Comcast Pavilion in College Park, Md. The Yellow Jackets are now 15-8 overall and 6-6 in ACC play, while the Terrapins improve to 12-12 on the season and 3-9 in league action.
Four Yellow Jackets had double-digit kills in the loss, led by Monique Mead’s 19 kills. Bailey Hunter added 13 of her own to go along with 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
Kaleigh Colson dished out a season-high 57 assists and Susan Carlson had a career-high five service aces.
Georgia Tech held a lead through much of the first game, wavering only when Maryland tied the game late, 20-20. The Terrapins made the opening frame a nail biter, pushing the score to 29-29 as the teams traded set point seven times. The Yellow Jackets pulled through with set point on a service ace by Mead and capped off the opener thanks to a Maryland ball handling error.
In the second game, the Yellow Jackets fell behind after four consecutive points helped boost the Terps to a 16-10 lead. Georgia Tech followed a timeout with a 4-1 run to close the gap 17-14, but it wasn’t enough as Maryland held on for a 25-20 victory.
Following the intermission, the Jackets jumped off to a 9-6 lead, but four straight points by Maryland capped off by a marathon rally tied the game, 9-9. The Terps took their largest lead with a 15-13 advantage. Although Georgia Tech never trailed the Terps by more than two points, Maryland kept its lead throughout the stanza, pulling ahead in the match 2-1.
Early in the fourth set, Maryland took an early 6-3 lead until Tech tied it up thanks to three-straight kills by Jennifer Percy. The Yellow Jackets followed that with another four-point rally topped off by back-to-back serving aces by Carlson to force a Maryland timeout. Maryland threatened a comeback taking a 15-14 lead, but a pair of kills by Mead and a solo block by Chanell Clark-Bibbs stifled any momentum.
In the fifth game, Maryland led, 8-6, at the switch and maintained its rhythm, taking the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Sunday at 12 p.m. when they travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass. for a match against Boston College.
