Dec. 18, 2012
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team closed a 2012 season that was highlighted by several individual and team accomplishments.
Four-year head coach Tonya Johnson guided the team to its third winning record in her tenure with a 19-12 overall record and a 10-10 mark in ACC action.
Here is a look back on the 2012 campaign:
Fast Out Of The Gate
– The Yellow Jackets jumped out to an 11-2 record through the first 13 matches of the season for the best start in coach Johnson’s tenure, including winning the first five matches for the first time in her four years.
– Eight of those 11 victories were sweeps, including a 3-0 win against Clemson at home to open ACC play. It was the first sweep for Tech against the Tigers since 2005.
– On the flip side, the Yellow Jackets were only swept three times the entire season.
– Tech enjoyed a 9-0 home record at O’Keefe Gym, until the Jackets fell to No. 12 Florida State in five sets at home on Oct. 19.
Smokin’ Aces
– The Yellow Jackets were a force to be reckoned with at the serving line, finishing fourth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with a 1.74 aces per set average.
– The squad spent one week (Sept. 23) at No. 1 in the nation in serving aces with 2.04 per set.
– Individually, senior Monique Mead ranked No. 7 in the country and first in the ACC with 0.48 aces per game. Junior Kaleigh Colson finished the season 48th nationally and fourth in the league (0.37).
– Against NC State (Sept. 28), the Yellow Jackets tallied 13 service aces, which are a season-best in a match and tied the second-most aces in a single match in GT history.
– In the same match, Mead led the team with nine service aces in just the first two sets – the most by an individual this season and the second-most by an individual in one match in program history.
– Six Jackets finished the season with double-digit aces.
In the Top 50
– The Yellow Jackets finished in the top 50 nationally in service aces (No. 4, 1.76) and hitting percentage (No. 40, .248).
– Mead finished No. 7 in aces (0.48) and No. 33 in points per set (4.84).
– Colson finished No. 48 in aces (0.37).
– Senior Annie Czarnecki finished No. 20 and third in the ACC with a .382 hitting percentage.
Milestones Reached
– Coach Johnson reached her 50th win in ACC action against Wake Forest on Nov. 16.
– Mead became the all-time leader in career kills at Georgia Tech with 1,918. She eclipsed 1,000 career digs on Nov. 15 vs. Duke and reached the 2,000-point mark (Oct. 12).
– Bailey Hunter collected her 1,000th kill against Jacksonville (Sept. 8).
All Tournament-Teams
– Seniors Monique Mead and Bailey Hunter were named to all four All-Tournament teams this season.
– Hunter was named the MVP of the Georgia Tech Courtyard Invite and the Courtyard Classic.
– Senior libero Nicki Meyer was named Libero of the Courtyard Invite.
– Junior setter Kaleigh Colson was named to the Courtyard Classic All-Tournament Team.
ACC Players of the Week
– Senior outside hitter Bailey Hunter was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 17). Hunter tallied 15 kills in each match and hit over .400 in both matches at the GT Courtyard Classic with just five errors on 60 swings for an impressive weekend .500 hitting clip. She led the team with a 5.00 kills per set average and had a team second-best 3.50 digs per set.
– Monique Mead was named ACC player of the week on Nov. 12. The Newnan, Ga. native helped Georgia Tech to a 2-0 record with wins against No. 22 North Carolina, 3-2, and NC State, 3-1. She recorded double-doubles and led all players with 17 and 20 kills in both matches, respectively.
Postseason Awards
– Mead was named an AVCA third team All-American. It marked her first AVCA All-American appearance after three consecutive honorable mention accolades.
– Mead earned All-ACC honors all four years of her career, making her just the 13th player in ACC history and fourth player at Tech to accomplish the feat, joining former Yellow Jackets Andrea Nachtrieb, Cris Omiecinski and Lynnette Moster.
– Mead was also named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-East Region Team. It marks the third straight AVCA postseason honor for Mead, as she earned honorable mention recognition her freshman year.
– Freshman Chanell Clark-Bibbs was named to the ACC All-Freshman team, after averaging 0.88 blocks per set and tallying 10 solo stuffs; both were the second-most on the team. The Houston native averaged 1.80 kills per set and hit at a .258 clip. She recorded double-digit kills in four matches and put down at least two blocks in 15 of 19 total matches played.
Four-Peat
– In Tonya Johnson’s four years as head coach of the program, the Yellow Jackets have defeated in-state rival Georgia every year. Georgia Tech enjoys a seven-match winning streak against the Bulldogs and Tech has won 13 of the last 14 meetings.
– Redshirt senior Bailey Hunter went an undefeated 5-0 in her career against the Bulldogs.
Life After Volleyball
– Annie Czarnecki graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing. She plans to seek a full time job in sales/marketing/event planning and find success there before deciding if she would like to go back to school.
– Susan Carlson will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in general management and will look to take classes to apply to medical school.
– Bailey Hunter graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing. She plans on playing professionally and eventually going back to school with the idea of coaching in mind.
– Monique Mead graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing. Starting Jan. 2 she will play volleyball in Puerto Rico until April or May then, hopefully, continuing to play somewhere in Europe after that.
– Nicki Meyer will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. She will be working with the Alexander Tharp fund this spring and hopefully will continue to work in development in athletics or for a nonprofit.
