Aug. 26, 2011
ATLANTA – Junior Monique Mead had 20 kills and 17 digs and freshman Ali Santi had 46 assists and nine digs as the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (1-0) beat Kansas State (0-1), 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-23, 27-25) in front of 1,011 fans at O’Keefe Gym Friday night in the first day of action of the Courtyard Marriott Classic.
The match saw 36 total ties and 14 lead changes as it went back and forth throughout. Mead had her 20 kills on .381 hitting as the Yellow Jackets hit .240 on the night. Senior Bailey Hunter added 14 kills and five digs while senior Asia Stawicka added seven kills on .417 hitting. Freshman Ali Santi drew the start at setter on opening night and dished out 46 assists to go along with nine digs. Sophomore Jennifer Percy also reached double-figures as she added 10 kills on .529 hitting. Junior Nicki Meyer started as the libero and had 11 digs as well for the Yellow Jackets.
Kansas State was led by Kaitlynn Pelger who had 21 kills and 14 digs. The Wildcats hit .231 as a team.
In the first set, Kansas State used a 5-0 run to break open a 14-14 tie and went on to win 25-19. The Wildcats led for much of the set. Mead led the Jackets with four kills as Tech hit .308. Kansas State, meanwhile, hit .586.
In the second set, the Yellow Jackets went on a 12-4 run to open up an 18-10 lead and never looked back as they were able to even the match at one set apiece with a 25-15 win. Tech hit .462 in the second set and was led by Mead who had seven kills. Percy added four and Santi dished out 14 assists.
Kansas State led the third set 19-15, but the Yellow Jackets came back to reel off 10 of the next 14 points and went on to win 25-23 and take a 2-1 lead for the match. The fourth set saw Tech go on a 6-0 run to take a 14-11 lead but Kansas State came back and soon held a 19-17 advantage. Four straight Tech points gave the Jackets a 21-19 edge but the Wildcats answered again and held set point at 24-23. Kansas State fought off one match point but a kill by sophomore Jen Percy clinched the win for the Jackets, 27-25.
The Courtyard Marriott Classic concludes tomorrow with four matches beginning at 10:30 a.m. Georgia Tech will play Tennessee Tech at 12:30 p.m. and Louisville at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on WREK, 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Fans can watch all four matches through Georgia Tech All-Access. This weekend will be a free preview and all home matches will also be available on-demand to subscribers.
