Aug. 17, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Georgia Tech volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference it was announced today in voting conducted by the league’s coaches. In addition, seniors Jordan McCullers and Mary Ashley Tippins as well as junior Bailey Hunter and sophomore Monique Mead were named to the Preseason All-ACC team giving the Yellow Jackets the most selections of any school.
Tech earned 103 points and three first-place votes trailing only Florida State and Duke, who tied for first place with 108 points. The Seminoles had five first-place votes to the Blue Devils’ four. Miami came in fourth followed by North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest, NC State and Boston College.
Tippins was a 2009 AVCA honorable mention All-American and All-ACC performer. She led the team and ACC and was 20th in the nation averaging 11.27 assists per set. Tippins’ 36 service aces (0.31/set) were also first on the team and seventh in the ACC and she added 71 kills (0.61/set), a .268 hitting percentage, 221 digs (1.91/set) and 49 total blocks as well.
McCullers led the team and was sixth in the ACC averaging 4.14 digs per set a year ago. She was also second on the team with 63 assists, while also adding two kills and 12 service aces. McCullers had over 20 digs in nine different matches and double-figures on 26 different occasions.
Hunter ranked first on the team and sixth in the ACC averaging 3.28 kills a set in 2009 while also adding six assists, 16 service aces, 89 digs and 35 total blocks. She went 19 straight matches at one point with at least 10 kills.
Mead, the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year and AVCA honorable mention All-American, was second on the team and seventh in the ACC averaging 3.07 kills per game. She posted eight of the team’s 14 double-doubles on the season and had 22 double-figure kill matches and went over 20 twice. Mead was third on the team with 56 assists and second in digs at 1.97 a set. She also added 30 service aces and 90 total blocks, good for third-best on the squad as well.
Under first-year head coach Tonya Johnson the 2009 Yellow Jackets went 21-10 overall and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. The Jackets finished third in the ACC with a 15-5 record after being picked eighth in the preseason poll.
Tech opens the 2010 season August 27-28 by hosting the Courtyard Marriott Classic at O’Keefe Gym. The Yellow Jackets will host Indiana on Friday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. and then also play matches the next day against Alabama A&M (12:30 p.m.) and UAB (7 p.m.).
