Oct. 15, 2010
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ATLANTA – Junior Bailey Hunter and sophomore Monique Mead combined for 35 kills as the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (12-7, 5-3 ACC) defeated North Carolina (15-6, 6-2), 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23), in front of 1,337 fans at O’Keefe Gym. On “Dig for the Cure” night, the Yellow Jackets recorded 64 digs and raised $1,260 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Georgia Tech had a season-high 17 blocks and was led by Hunter who had 18 kills on .316 hitting. Mead posted her fifth double-double of the season as she had 17 kills and 14 digs to go along with seven total blocks. Senior Mary Ashley Tippins had her 11th double-double of the season and fifth straight with 45 assists and 16 digs. She also added four total blocks.
Freshman Jennifer Percy added 11 kills and three total blocks for Georgia Tech, while sophomore Alexis Woodson had a career-high nine total blocks to lead all players. Junior Asia Stawicka had nine kills on .318 hitting as well as seven total blocks. Senior Jordan McCullers chipped in with 14 digs and six assists and sophomore Susan Carlson added 11 digs.
North Carolina led for much of the first set, but it was a late Tech run that gave the Yellow Jackets a 27-25 victory. North Carolina led 21-16, but a 7-2 Tech run tied the set at 23 apiece. UNC fought off two straight Jacket set points but Tech closed it out on a kills by Stawicka to take the 1-0 lead in the match. Mead led all players with seven kills as Tech hit .260. Hunter had six kills for the Jackets as they also had four blocks.
The Yellow Jackets made another furious come-back in the second set, but this time, North Carolina hung on for the 26-24 win and evened the match at a set apiece. Tech led by two early but a 5-0 Tar Heel run gave them a 9-5 lead. Georgia Tech soon went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 11, but UNC slowly built its lead back up to four points. The Yellow Jackets chipped away and eventually tied the set at 24 following a 6-2 run. This time, however, UNC closed it out with two straight points. Mead had five kills in the set to lead all players but the Jackets hit just .077. Hunter added three kills. Tech had six blocks in the second set giving it 10 for the match through the first two sets.
The third set was full of runs on each side as the Yellow Jackets prevailed in the end, 25-22, and took a 2-1 lead in the match. With Tech leading 8-6, UNC reeled off six straight points to go up 11-8. It was 14-9 Tar Heels when Georgia Tech answered with a 5-0 run to tie it again. After a 5-1 run by the Tar Heels made it 20-16, Tech came back once again. The Jackets scored four in a row to tie the set at 20 and force a UNC timeout. After the timeout, the Jackets continued the run and went on to win 25-22. Percy led the Jackets with four kills as they hit .355 and had four more blocks.
The fourth set was close throughout as neither team led by more than two points until a mini Tech run made it 20-16. The Tar Heels came back to tie the set at 20 apiece, but a 4-1 run Jacket run gave them match point at 24-21. North Carolina scored two straight points to cut the deficit to one but Tech closed it out to secure the match.
The Yellow Jackets continue their five-match homestand on Sunday at 1 p.m. when NC State visits O’Keefe Gym. Live video, audio and stats are available for every match at www.RamblinWreck.com. Each home match will also be broadcast on WREK, 91.1 FM in Atlanta.
