Sept. 23, 2012
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team (11-2, 3-0 ACC) defeated the Maryland Terrapins, 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-17) to snap the Terps four-game winning streak and to maintain its own 7-0 home record.
Tech has now swept six of its last seven opponents. Against the Terrapins, junior setter Kaleigh Colson recorded a double-double (30 assists, 11 digs), while Bailey Hunter and Monique Mead added 12 and 14 kills, respectively. In the back row, senior libero Nicki Meyer led the team with 16 digs.
“I felt like we came out and set the tempo for the match,” head coach Tonya Johnson said. “It makes it a lot easier to play and you come out and throw the first punch, setting the tempo. I thought we did that very early.
“In the second set we got down, but I thought that we kept fighting to work our way back into that set. We were able to get it in the end. I challenged my team today to be better than we were on Friday night and to not let anybody come into our house and control the match. I feel like they responded to that today.”
Maryland (9-5, 1-2 ACC) was led by Mary Cushman and Ashleigh Crutcher who each had six kills. Two days after sweeping the Clemson Tigers, the Terrapins were held to a .020 hitting percentage and did not hit above .100 in any of the games against Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets controlled the tempo from the first point in the first game. Tech went on a series of runs, including three rallies behind the serves of Kaleigh Colson, Bailey Hunter and Susan Carlson.
Maryland found its rhythm in the second set as the two teams battled for the lead. The game featured four tied scores and two lead changes. Tech trailed 11-14 before scoring six unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead.
In the third set, Hunter hit .500 and Mead hit .429 to lead the team past Maryland, 25-17.
“I’m really proud of Bailey and Monique for coming back and having a great offensive day, considering the offensive night they had on Friday against Boston College,” Johnson said. “I thought they both came out and played really well today.”
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on the road next weekend when they take on a red-hot NC State team (13-1, 3-0 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C., before playing at North Carolina (10-2, 1-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
