Nov. 12, 2010
ATLANTA – Sophomore Monique Mead had 15 kills but the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (16-12, 9-7 ACC) lost to Virginia Tech (18-8, 9-7), 3-0 (26-28, 22-25, 22-25) Friday night at O’Keefe Gym. With the loss, the Yellow Jackets fall back into a third-place tie in the ACC.
Mead was the only Jacket to record double-figures as she had a match-high 15 kills on .231 hitting. Junior Asia Stawicka had seven kills for Tech on .333 hitting to go along with three total blocks. Senior Jordan McCullers had 10 digs while senior Mary Ashley Tippins led the way with 30 assists and also added eight digs.
Georgia Tech hit .210 on the night and had five blocks. The Hokies hit .350 with seven blocks and were led by Cara Baarendse who had 15 kills.
Virginia Tech led the first set 12-9, but a 6-1 Yellow Jacket run gave them a 15-13 advantage. The Hokies came back and eventually led 20-18, but Tech went on another 6-1 run to hold set point at 24-21. Virginia Tech did not go down quietly and came back to tie the set at 24 apiece. Georgia Tech went on to hold the next two set points, but the Hokies fought it off each time. After tying the set at 26, the Hokies scored the final two points on went on to the come-back win, 28-26. Mead led the Jackets with seven kills as they hit .273 and had four blocks.
In the second set, the Hokies built up an early 9-7 lead and never let the Yellow Jackets take their own lead. Tech tied it at 10, but that was the last time in the set. Virginia Tech led by as many five points and went on to the 25-22 victory. Down 24-19, Georgia Tech reeled off three straight points to make it 24-22 but Virginia Tech was able to put the set away and take the 2-0 lead for the match. Mead had six more kills for the Jackets in the second set as they hit .233. Tech did not have any blocks as the Hokies hit .533.
Each team used 5-1 runs early in the third set as it was nip and tuck throughout. After the Hokies answered Tech’s 5-1 run with an identical one to tie the set up at nine, neither team led by more than three points until the end as Virginia Tech went on to win 25-22 and complete the sweep. Once the Hokies took the lead back at 16-15, they never gave it up. On a couple of occasions Tech would cut a three-point deficit down to one but they could never get over the hump. The Jackets hit just .097 in the final set.
The Yellow Jackets will now host Virginia on Sunday at 1 p.m. Live video, audio and stats will be available at RamblinWreck.com.
