Oct. 30, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – After dropping the first set, the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (15-7, 9-3 ACC) stormed back to win the next three and beat North Carolina (11-11, 7-4), 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-18), Friday night at the Smith Center. Senior Brittany Roderick led the Yellow Jackets with 13 kills, while they tallied a season-high 15.0 blocks against the Tar Heels.
I’m very proud of our team and how we played tonight,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “After a slow start, we came back and were able to take control of the match by playing really, really well in the final three sets. We executed well tonight, especially in serve and pass, and were able to get UNC out of rhythm. It was nice to play with this kind of cohesiveness on the road.”
Roderick hit .345 for the match and also had four digs and four total blocks to go along with her team-best 13 kills. Sophomore Asia Stawicka turned in a solid all-around performance as she chipped in with nine kills on .444 hitting and nine total blocks. Senior Chrissy DeMichelis added 12 kills and freshman Monique Mead rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 kills, six digs and six blocks. Junior Mary Ashley Tippins dished out 51 assists and junior Jordan McCullers recorded a team-best 15 digs. Georgia Tech hit .256 for the match and held UNC to a .157 clip.
The Yellow Jackets led early in set one, but an 8-1 Carolina run had the Tar Heels up six points at 11-5 and Tech battling from behind for the rest of the match. UNC later had a four-point lead at 18-14, but the Yellow Jackets ran off four straight points to tie the set up for the first time in a while. UNC responded with three quick points, however, to open up a 21-18 advantage and force a Jacket timeout. It did little to stop the Tar Heel attack though as they closed out the set on a 7-1 run after Tech tied it at 18 to win 25-19 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, the Yellow Jackets responded with a 25-20 win to tie the match at one apiece. Tied at nine, Tech went on a 7-1 run to open up a 16-10 lead. Leading by as many as seven points, North Carolina tried to make a late run. The Tar Heels got as close as three points at 22-19 but Tech held on for the win.
The third set followed a similar pattern as the second one. With the score tied at five, Georgia Tech went on an 8-2 run to take a 13-7 lead and force North Carolina to play catch-up for the rest of the set. With Tech holding set point at 24-20, UNC scored two quick points to make it 24-22. After a timeout, senior Brittany Roderick recorded a kills to complete the win and give Tech a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, Georgia Tech ran out to a quick 5-1 lead and never looked back en route to the match-clinching fourth set win. UNC got within two points at 8-6, but another 6-1 run by the Jackets gave them a 14-7 lead and control of the set. UNC did not mount another threat and the Jackets secured the important road win.
The Yellow Jackets will now face NC State, tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in Raleigh. Live stats of the match will be available at www.RamblinWreck.com.
