Oct. 5, 2014
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team (8-9, 1-3 ACC) won a thrilling five-set match (25-17, 22-25, 25-14, 17-25, 15-12) against Wake Forest (12-6, 2-2) on Sunday afternoon.
A balanced offense, key digs and timely blocks helped Georgia Tech win in five sets. Teegan Van Gunst led Georgia Tech with 13 kills and added 12 digs for a double-double, while Annika Van Gunst contributed 11 kills and 11 digs.
Senior Courtney Felinski put down 12 kills, freshman Sydney Wilson chipped in seven kills and sophomore London Ackermann put up a career-best 22 digs.
At the net, the Jackets tallied seven solo blocks, which ties for seventh on the Tech single-match list. Teegan Van Gunst had four of those seven for a career-best and tied for third on the single-match record books.
Tech earned its first ACC win on the season and used all 13 players on the roster in the match.
“We played three really good ACC teams coming into today and I think that prepared us,” head coach Michelle Collier said. “We were very close, very competitive with the others, and I think that really helps having that strength in the league.
“I think we needed new energy on the court. Our right-side attack wasn’t working as effectively as it has been, so we tried to get something else from that side by putting other players there. I thought Callie Bivings did a tremendous job of changing the energy on the court and making some good decisions.”
The Jackets were fast out of the gate in set one with an 8-2 run capped off by two big blocks from Teegan Van Gunst and Sydney Wilson, and the Jackets never lost the lead.
Georgia Tech played catch up in set two and worked back from a 10-7 deficit to tie it 16-16. The Jackets took their first lead of the set, 17-16, on a kill by Wilson. Tech led by three, 19-16, capped off by a block by Rebecca Martin, but Wake rattled off four quick points to go ahead 20-19. The Deacons finished the set on a 5-3 run to win, 25-22.
After falling behind in set three, the Jackets put on a 6-0 run thanks to a pair of kills by Felinski and aggressive serving from Ackermann to go up 10-6. Tech stretched its lead to 20-14 and scored the next five-straight points to win 25-14.
The Jackets jumped out to a 4-1 lead in game four, but Wake Forest went on a 9-1 rally to take a 9-5 lead. The Demon Deacons kept the momentum and kept Georgia Tech out of rhythm for the remainder of the set, winning 25-17, to force a fifth frame.
Tech had an 8-4 advantage at the switch in game five, but Wake Forest clawed its way back into the match to it 11-11 and then again 12-12. Tech won the next three points capped off by a solo block from Teegan Van Gunst to put the set, 15-12, and the match, 3-2, away.
The Jackets are back in action Friday, Oct. 10 when they host NC State on Alumni Night at O’Keefe Gym. First serve is set for 8 p.m.
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