Sept. 16, 2012
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team topped Georgia State, 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-18), in the final game of the Courtyard Classic at O’Keefe Gym on Sunday afternoon. With the win the Yellow Jackets (9-2) remain a perfect 5-0 at home to start the season.
Senior Bailey Hunter was named MVP of the tournament and she led the Yellow Jackets with 15 kills against the Panthers. Senior Monique Mead and junior Kaleigh Colson were also named to the All-Tournament team. Mead had 10 kills against GSU and Colson hit .667 (4a-0e-6ta).
Tech maintained a consistent lead throughout the first set, always leading by at least two points after the score was 4-3. Mead and sophomore Courtney Felinski each had four kills in the game, while Mead had a team-high three service aces in the set.
Behind the serve of Mead, the Yellow Jackets took an 18-13 lead and made it 23-14. Tech ended game one, 25-14, thanks to a cross-court kill by Quinn Evans.
Freshman Chanell Clark-Bibbs saw her first collegiate action in set two. She hit .250 (2-1-4) and recorded her first block assist and dig in the game. The Yellow Jackets held the Panthers to a .054 hitting clip in game two and allowed just seven kills.
Senior libero Nicki Meyer had a team-high seven digs in the third and final set, and she tallied a season-best 20 in the match.
The Panthers managed to stay within two points of Tech through the first half of the game until a Natalie Nieto service error put the Yellow Jackets up 14-11. Hunter led the Tech offense with seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
The Yellow Jackets return to action next weekend, when they’ll put their perfect 5-0 record this season in O’Keefe on the line with a match on Friday against Boston College at 7 p.m., followed by a contest on Sunday afternoon. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
