Oct. 9, 2009
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech Volleyball team (11-5, 5-1 ACC) hit .398 as it cruised to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-22) win over Maryland (10-9, 2-4) Friday on Parent’s Night at O’Keefe Gym. Sophomore Bailey Hunter led the Yellow Jackets with 15 kills as they improved to 9-0 at home this season.
“We played really well in the first two sets tonight,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “We executed at a high level and put the pressure on Maryland. In the third set, we came out a little complacent and got too comfortable with what we were doing, but I was proud of how they executed at the end to get a great win.”
The Yellow Jackets hit .398 for the match, while holding Maryland to .204. Hunter had her 15 kills on a .387 hitting percentage as she has now recorded double-figure kills in 14 straight matches. Sophomore Asia Stawicka, who began the night hitting a perfect 6-for-6 in the first set, had 11 kills, three digs and three total blocks for Tech. She hit .625 on the night. Senior Chrissy DeMichelis rounded out Tech’s double-figure scorers with 10 kills on .368 hitting to go along with five digs. Junior Mary Ashley Tippins handed out 45 assists, while junior Jordan McCullers recorded a game-high 17 digs. Freshman Monique Mead also turned in a solid performance with eight kills, four digs and four total blocks.
In the first set, the Yellow Jackets opened up a 14-8 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-15 win. Tech hit .615 for the set led by six kills on a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage by Stawicka. DeMichelis also had four kills for the Jackets.
In set two, it was a 5-4 score when Tech went on a 13-4 run to open up an 18-8 lead. Maryland got within six points, but that was as close as it would get. The Jackets won the set 25-18 and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Hunter led the Jackets with seven kills in the set as she hit .545. Tippins dished out 15 assists in the set as Tech hit .359.
Maryland had a 2-0 lead to begin set three, its first lead of the match, but it was short-lived as Tech reeled off three in a row to take a 3-2 lead. Maryland got the advantage back at 6-3, however, forcing a Georgia Tech timeout.
It was later 9-5 Terps when Tech went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 11. The teams traded the next several points until Maryland opened up a 21-18 lead and forced the Jackets to call timeout. It was soon 22-19 Maryland when the Yellow Jackets raced back with three straight points to tie the set and force a Terp timeout. The Jackets continued the run and ended up scoring the final six points to sweep the Terps.
Georgia Tech will now host Boston College tomorrow night at 7 p.m. It’s Camper Night and any kids wearing a 2009 Yellow Jacket Volleyball Camp t-shirt will receive free admission. The match will be broadcast live on WREK, 91.1 FM in Atlanta and online at www.RamblinWreck.com. Live stats will also be available via Gametracker.
Please note, on Saturday there will be several road closures around O’Keefe Gym due to the Taste of Atlanta going on. 5th Street from Techwood to West Peachtree Street and Spring Street from Biltmore Place to Armstead Place will be closed and traffic in Midtown will be heavy.
