Nov. 15, 2012
THE FLATS – Senior Monique Mead tallied her 1,000th career dig and led all players with 22 kills in Georgia Tech’s 3-1 loss to Duke Thursday night at O’Keefe Gym. The Yellow Jackets fall to 18-11 overall and 9-9 in ACC play, while the Blue Devils improve to 15-15 on the season and 6-12 in league action.
In a match that featured 31 tied scores and 14 lead changes, junior Jennifer Percy tallied a season-high 13 kills on 28 swings for a .357 hitting percentage, and Bailey Hunter added 11 kills of her own.
The first game was back and forth until Tech went on a 6-0 run behind the serving of Hunter to break an 11-11 tie and take a 17-11 lead. Duke fought back from a 19-14 deficit to close the gap 23-22, and scored the next three points to claim the opening game, 25-23.
The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils traded the lead three times in the second game, but momentum landed on Duke’s side late in the set. A kill from Chelsea Cook allowed the Blue Devils to go ahead 17-16, a lead they didn’t give up, and they won the second stanza, 25-20.
The momentum pendulum swung back in Tech’s favor in the third game. After the score was knotted at 12, the Yellow Jackets put together a series of four-point runs to take the lead and stay alive in the match with a 25-19 victory. Tech hit .531 in the third game led by Mead’s eight kills.
Tech continued its rhythm in game four, but after the Yellow Jackets scored four-straight to take a 14-11 lead, the Blue Devils put a stop to it with a 5-0 run. Tech didn’t score more than two points in a row after that, and Duke took the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action Friday at 7 p.m. with the final home match of the season against Wake Forest.
