Sept. 24, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Senior Asia Stawicka, junior Monique Mead and sophomore Jennifer Percy had 12 kills apiece as the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (8-5, 1-2 ACC) won the final three sets to come back and beat Wake Forest (4-8, 1-2) Saturday evening.
“It was really nice to see us come out and respond today,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “I thought we had a greater sense of urgency to take better care of the ball on our side of the net and execute. Hopefully we can build off of this win and continue to progress as a team.”
Stawicka hit .550 as she recorded her 12 kills and also added five total blocks. Mead had seven digs, three total blocks and two service aces in addition to her 12 kills while Percy had four digs and three total blocks to go with her 12 kills.
Freshman Ali Santi picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 40 assists and 10 digs as junior Nicki Meyer led the team with 16 digs. Tech hit .214 for the match and had 11 service aces led by four from junior Susan Carlson.
Senior Bailey Hunter had eight kills as well for the Yellow Jackets. Tech had 11 total blocks and out-dug Wake, 51-44.
Wake Forest used a 9-2 run to take control of the first set and went on to a 25-17 win. The Yellow Jackets found themselves down 12-4 early following the run and were unable to get any closer than five points the rest of the way. Tech hit .125 in the set compared to Wake’s .455 percentage. Hunter led the Jackets with four kills.
In the second set, it was Tech’s turn for an early 9-2 run. The Jackets overcame an early 2-0 deficit to open up a 9-4 lead. Wake reeled off three quick points but another 6-0 run by the Yellow Jackets gave them a 15-7 lead and control of the set. The Deacons never got any closer than seven points as Tech went on to win 25-14 and even the match up at one. Tech hit .129 in the second set while Wake cooled off to .000.
The third set was a wild one as Tech held an early three-point lead but saw Wake come back and hold a 15-11 advantage. The Yellow Jackets came back with a 7-2 run and later led 18-17. Wake came back to take a 21-19 lead and forced a Tech timeout but the Yellow Jackets came right back with a 6-2 run to close out the set. With the 25-23 win, the Yellow Jackets took a 2-1 lead in the match. The Jackets hit .229 in the third set while Wake hit .263.
The Yellow Jackets kept the momentum going into the fourth set as they raced out to a 7-3 lead and forced a Wake Forest timeout. Tech kept the pressure up and would not allow the Deacons to string any points together as the Jackets slowly built up their advantage and forced Wake to use its final timeout when it was 16-9. Wake got a point back, but six would be as close as Tech would let it get. The Jackets closed out the set on an 8-2 run to win going away, 25-12.
The Yellow Jackets now head home to open up a four-match ACC homestand at O’Keefe Gym beginning with NC State on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. Live video and audio for every Georgia Tech home match is available at RamblinWreck.com through the All-Access channel. Each home match is also broadcast on WREK, 91.1 FM in Atlanta.
