Oct. 31, 2014
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Georgia Tech (11-13, 4-7 ACC) defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-17, 2-9) in five sets (17-25, 25-12, 11-25, 25-23, 15-11) Friday night at Purcell Pavilion.
Teegan Van Gunst and Courtney Felinski led Georgia Tech with 13 kills each, while Van Gunst added 13 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Annika Van Gunst chipped in nine kills and eight digs, while London Ackermann led the back row with 20 digs.
Senior Ashtaan Horton played the last two sets, tallying six key kills on eight swings for a .625 hitting percentage.
“It was good because we’ve been playing really inconsistent on the road, but it was good to come out with some confidence and do what we needed to do to win,” head coach Michelle Collier said. “I think Notre Dame exposed some of our weaknesses and we kept trying to adjust. We kept fighting and finding a way to adjust and came out with the win.
“Ashtaan did great. We knew that our middle attack needed to be a part of the offense. She helped us get some sideouts and key points. She served really well, did a good job blocking and played some defense. It was great to have that leadership, being a senior, stepping in to help the team. That’s what we need from all our players and she was definitely a big part of this win.”
Notre Dame established its big block early, winning the first two points on blocks. The Irish led by as many as nine, 20-11, before the Yellow Jackets worked back to close the gap, 23-17. Notre Dame won the next two points from a cross-court kill and a solo block by Jeni Houser.
Georgia Tech jumped out to a 7-0 lead in game two behind the aggressive serving of Teegan Van Gunst, who tallied a career-high three aces in that span. The Jackets never let up, hitting .409 while holding the Irish to a .069 hitting clip. Tech led by as many as 12 points, 20-8, before putting the set away, 25-12, on a block by Lauren Pitz and Rebecca Martin.
The tide turned to start set three and Notre Dame was fast out of the gate with a 10-3 lead. The Irish turned that into a 15-5 margin on a 5-2 run. Tech couldn’t close the gap and fell, 25-11.
Notre Dame led set four, 10-6, until the Jackets rattled off six-straight to go up 12-10 behind a pair of kills from Horton and a block by Horton and Annika Van Gunst. Notre Dame regrouped and worked its way back into the match, trailing by one, 22-21. The Jackets held on and captured the set, 25-23, capped off by a Teegan Van Gunst kill.
A block by Annika Van Gunst and Horton gave Tech an 8-6 lead at the switch in game five. A kill by Felinski gave Tech match point and the Jackets won on a Notre Dame miscue, 15-11.
The Jackets are back in action Friday, Nov. 7 at Wake Forest. First serve in Winston-Salem is set for 6:30 p.m.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTVolleyball), Instagram (GTVolleyball), Facebook (Georgia Tech Volleyball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
-#TogetherWeSwarm-
