ATLANTA, GA – Despite falling behind two games to one and 11-8 in game four, the Georgia Tech volleyball team captured a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament by defeating North Carolina in five games, 15-11, 13-15, 15-17, 15-11, 15-13, Saturday night in front of a season-high 1,837 fans. With the win, the Jackets improve to 23-6 on the season, 13-3 in conference play, while North Carolina falls to 23-7, 13-3.
Eida Mabry led the Jackets with a team-high 27 kills and six block assists while Maja Pachale chipped in 23 kills, 20 digs and four block assists. Kele Eveland notched a career high 25 digs and aschool-record 93 assists, breaking the previous mark of 87 set by Amanda Sabo in 1998.
For the Tar Heels, Nicole Reis notched 30 kills, 21 digs and five block assists, while Casey Simpson followed with 28 kills and 19 digs. Eve Rackham tallied 94 assists and 13 digs in the match.
Georgia Tech will enter the ACC Tournament as the number one seed, by virtue of a tie-breaker with North Carolina. The two teams each split their matches earlier in the season, with each team winning in five games, so the next tie breaker is games won and lost within the conference. Georgia Tech had 44 wins and 17 losses while North Carolina recorded 44 wins and 26 losses during the conference season.
The Jackets will face North Carolina State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night in the first round of the conference tournament.
Tech has won or shared the ACC regular season crown twice before, and the Jackets enter the ACC Tournament in search of their second title.
