Oct. 16, 2009
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Bailey Hunter and freshman Monique Mead had 10 kills apiece but it was not enough as the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (12-6, 6-2 ACC) lost to Virginia Tech (14-5, 4-4), 3-0 (26-28, 24-26, 11-25) Friday night in front of 3,112 fans at Cassell Coliseum.
Both of the first two sets were close as the Yellow Jackets fell in extra points. In the second set, Tech raced out to an 11-2 lead only to see the Hokies come back and win. Hunter recorded at least 10 kills for her 15th straight match, but Tech hit just .098 on the night. The Hokies, meanwhile hit .204 in the match. Mead added 10 kills, five digs and four total blocks for the Yellow Jackets. Junior Mary Ashley Tippins led the Jackets with 26 assists and junior Jordan McCullers had a team-high 16 digs.
In the first set, Georgia Tech led by as many as four points before Virginia Tech came back to cut the deficit to a point at 19-18 and force a Yellow Jacket timeout. After the timeout, the Hokies tied the set at 19, but a kill by DeMichelis gave the lead back to the Jackets. The Hokies went up by a point, 21-20, but back-to-back points by the Yellow Jackets gave them the lead again and caused Virginia Tech to use a timeout this time.
When play resumed, it was the Hokies turn as they scored consecutive points and re-took the lead again at 23-22. The Hokies had set point at 25-24 but a service error tied it up and sent the Jackets to another round of extra points on the road. Tech fought off two more set points, but back-to-back Yellow Jacket errors gave the Hokies a 28-26 win and 1-0 lead in the match.
In set number two, the Yellow Jackets came out on fire as they opened up a 5-0 lead and forced an early Virginia Tech timeout. It got up to an 11-2 lead in favor of the Yellow Jackets before Virginia Tech started to chip away. Virginia Tech came back to get within a point at 22-21 and forced a Georgia Tech timeout. After the timeout, the Hokies completed the come-back as they tied the set at 22, but a much-needed kill by Hunter gave the Yellow Jackets the lead once again. Georgia Tech later led 24-23, but the Hokies came back with three straight points to win the set and complete the come-back as they took a 2-0 advantage for the match.
Set three saw the Hokies take an 8-4 lead and the Yellow Jackets call a quick timeout to not let the match get away. The Jackets tried to keep pace but it was soon a 15-8 score after Virginia Tech had reeled off three straight points and they had to call their final timeout as Virginia Tech was looking for the sweep. Following the timeout, the Jackets were never able to make a run and were swept for the first time this season.
Georgia Tech will now head up the road to Charlottesville where it will play the University of Virginia at 7 p.m. Live stats of the match as well as a complete recap can be found at www.RamblinWreck.com.
