Sept. 19, 2014
THE FLATS – Sophomores Teegan Van Gunst, Annika Van Gunst and Rebecca Martin recorded double-doubles, but the Georgia Tech volleyball team (4-6) fell to Georgia (6-4) in four sets, 3-1 (29-31, 23-25, 25-18, 19-25) Friday night in the Yellow Jackets’ home opener in front of a sell-out crowd.
“I want to thank everyone for coming,” head coach Michelle Collier said. “They made it a special night for our team. It’s fun to see that environment. I think it’s one of the best in the country and we’re fortunate to have that.”
Teegan Van Gunst led all players with 19 kills, added 10 digs and hit at a .366 clip. Annika Van Gunst tallied 17 kills, 14 digs and recorded a .364 hitting percentage. Martin dished out 52 assists to go along with 16 digs, and sophomore London Ackermann put up 18 digs to lead Tech.
“Georgia played a great match,” Collier said. “We have to keep working on things too. We had some key errors at tough points. We have to clean that up, but I think we played a great match. I think we played really well defensively.
“Teegan and Annika continued to do well for us offensively. We need to find a couple more offensive threats to be a little more balanced, but overall I’m very proud of how we came out and played.”
The Jackets out-hit the Bulldogs .273 to .260 and recorded 72 digs to Georgia’s 57, but Tech was not able to capitalize at key moments of the match.
The Bulldogs were poised at set point 24-19 in the opening frame and the Yellow Jackets rallied to tie 24-24 thanks to kills by Teegan and Annika Van Gunst and a service ace by Annika Olsen. The Jackets had set point twice before falling to the Bulldogs, 31-29.
Neither team led by more than one point in the second set until UGA took a 19-17 lead. The set featured 19 tied scores and five lead changes, but Georgia came out on top 25-23.
The Jackets out-hit the Bulldogs .552 to .229 in the third set as they found their momentum. Tech led by five, 16-11, and held on to put the set away 25-18. The Bulldogs established their momentum from the beginning of the fourth frame and the Yellow Jackets fell, 25-19.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Saturday with matches against Alabama A&M at 12:30 p.m. and Southern Miss at 7 p.m. Both matches will air on ESPN3.
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. [View the story “Georgia Tech falls to UGA, 3-1 ” on Storify]
