Nov. 21, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sophomore Monique Mead had 18 kills and a career-high 19 digs, but the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (17-14, 10-9 ACC) saw a 2-0 lead disappear and fell to North Carolina (23-9, 14-5), 3-2 (25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 12-15) Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena.
Senior Mary Ashley Tippins had 43 assists in the match as she passed Allie Niekamp for third place all-time at Georgia Tech. She recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 13 digs to go along with her assists. Mead’s double-double was her fifth of the season. For both Mead and Tippins, it was their first double-doubles since the UNC match at O’Keefe Gym last month.
Georgia Tech hit just .159 for the match and had 14 total blocks. Freshman Jennifer Percy had 11 kills and junior Bailey Hunter added 10 for the Yellow Jackets. Hunter had a hand in seven of Tech’s blocks, including two solos. Sophomore Alexis Woodson added eight kills and seven total blocks while junior Asia Stawicka also had five kills and five blocks.
Senior Jordan McCullers recorded 25 digs for the second straight night and is now just 10 away from moving into fourth place at Tech. Sophomore Susan Carlson also had 13 digs for the Yellow Jackets.
In the first set, Georgia Tech led from start to finish and went on to a 25-20 victory. Leading 9-8, Tech went on a 5-0 run and opened up a 14-8 lead which had North Carolina playing catch up for the rest of the set. The Tar Heels wouldn’t get any closer than three points as Tech took a 1-0 lead for the match. Georgia Tech hit .294 in the set and was led by four kills from Hunter and three by Mead, The Jackets had three blocks as well.
In the second set, North Carolina held an early 9-4 lead but it was all Yellow Jackets after that. Behind a 14-3 run, Tech quickly erased its deficit and went on to the 25-19 win and took a 2-0 lead for the match. After the run, the Jackets led 18-12. UNC tried to chip away and got as close as three points at 22-19, but following a timeout Tech took the last three points to win the set. Mead had five kills in the set and the Yellow Jackets recorded four more blocks.
North Carolina withstood several punches from the Yellow Jackets to win the third set, 25-23, and get back in the match. After a 4-0 run, UNC opened up an 18-13 lead. Tech came back with a 5-0 run shortly thereafter to eventually tie the set at 19. UNC quickly built its lead back up to 24-21 and saw Tech score two points but eventually secured the set. Mead had six more kills for the Yellow Jackets as they hit .178 in the set. Woodson and Percy had four kills apiece.
In the fourth set, it was North Carolina’s turn to make the come-back. Georgia Tech jumped out to a 10-5 lead, but an 8-2 Tar Heel run gave UNC its first lead of the set at 13-12. With the set tied at 14, North Carolina went on an 11-3 run to put it away. Tech scored a couple late points but the Tar Heels went on to the 25-19 win and evened the match at two. The Yellow Jackets hit just .105 in the fourth set and had four more blocks. Mead led the way with three kills.
UNC opened the fifth set with the first three points but Georgia Tech came right back to tie it. After trading a couple points, the Tar Heels got the lead back to three points again at 8-5 and this time Tech did not have an answer. UNC led by as many as four points and went on to complete the comeback with a 15-12 win.
The Yellow Jackets will now close out the regular season on Friday against Clemson at 6:30 p.m. in O’Keefe Gym. Its senior night as Jordan McCullers and Mary Ashley Tippins will be honored prior to the match. Live video, audio and stats are available at www.RamblinWreck.com.
