Aug. 24, 2012
Box Score (PDF)
THE FLATS – After dropping the first set, 25-22, the Georgia Tech volleyball team swept the next three sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-16) to win its season opener against Cal State Fullerton as part of the Courtyard Invitational on Friday night at O’Keefe Gym. The match took place in front of 1,022 fans, and featured 29 tied scores and 17 lead changes.
“I thought we came out and we were tentative in the first set, but as we got more confident we started playing really good volleyball,” head coach Tonya Johnson said. “I thought we passed well enough in the first set, but errors kept us out. We had to come from behind in the second and third sets, and get back in it. It was nice to see us come through and keep our composure.”
Senior Bailey Hunter recorded a double-double with 16 kills and a career-high 15 digs. Senior Monique Mead added 11 kills and 13 digs along with nine blocks, just one shy of a triple-double. Senior Annie Czarnecki lead the squad with a .438 hitting percentage, connecting on eight of her 16 total attacks with just one error.
“I thought Bailey really turned it on at the end of set two and I thought it carried over,” Johnson said. “Monique struggled in sets one and two, and part of set three, but she finally got it going. It was nice to see those two keep composure, because when our team sees them worry, they worry. They went out and kept chipping away until they got themselves in a good attacking series.”
The Yellow Jackets hit .200 as a team and held the Titans to a .057 hitting clip. Cal State Fullerton was led by Kaylay Neto, who had 19 kills and five blocks on the night.
Georgia Tech regained its composure after dropping the first set and after being tied 9-9 in the second set, junior Kaleigh Colson led a nine-point run to take control of the game 18-9, and eventually win 25-20.
Trailing by more than five points in the third set with the score at 13-18 in the Titan’s favor, senior Susan Carlson served a 10-point rally to put her team on top 23-18.The Yellow Jackets held the Titans to a .000 hitting percentage in the fourth set, and the team stuffed the competition with 16 total team blocks.
The Courtyard Invite continues tomorrow with four matches beginning at 10 a.m. when Georgia Tech faces Charleston Southern. The match will be broadcast on WREK, 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Fans can tune into the games via GameTracker and All-Access subscribers can view the game on www.RamblinWreck.com.
