Sept. 1, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Georgia Tech volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season, 3-1 (27-29, 25-27, 25-22, 23-25), against Indiana on Saturday night at University Gym in Bloomington, Ind. The Yellow Jackets fall to 5-1 on the season and the Hoosiers improve to 5-1 overall.
Monique Mead led the Tech offense with 20 kills. Bailey Hunter tallied her third double-double of the season with 19 kills and 10 digs, while Annie Czarnecki added 14 kills and Nicki Meyer put up a team-best 11 digs.
Hunter and Mead were named to the Indiana All-Tournament team. Hunter averaged 4.09 kills per set (45k, 14e, 100ta) and Mead averaged 4.00 kills per set (44k, 13e, 85ta) throughout the tourney.
The Hoosiers were led by Jordan Haverly who had 19 kills and hit for a .415 percentage. Jade Henderson contributed 15 kills and Caitlin Hansen was able to put up a team-high 19 digs.
The two teams were neck and neck throughout the first set, which featured five lead changes and 11 tied scores. Georgia Tech had its biggest lead with the score at 24-21, when the Hoosiers went on a 4-0 run to take the lead, 25-24.
Thanks to a service ace and kill by Mead, Tech was poised to win the first set when the score was 27-26. The Yellow Jackets were unable to close the opening set after a kill by Haverly tied the game and a pair of kills by Henderson gave Indiana the win.
The second set was much of the same. Tech led throughout the entire game, but the Hoosiers battled back and eventually tied the score 25-25. An attacking error by Mead and a Haverly kill put Indiana ahead in the match, 2-0.
The Yellow Jackets refused to be swept and won the third set, 25-22. Mead and Czarnecki each hit at a .500 clip in the third set. Hunter put up a team-high five digs to keep Tech alive in the match, and the team held on through three lead changes and nine tied scores to win set three, 25-22.
But it was the Hoosiers who were victorious in the fourth set to win the match, 3-1. Tech led the entire match once again, but lost a 23-21 lead and were unable to put the game away. Indiana was able to score four consecutive points and win the set, 25-23.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action Wednesday, Sept. 5 when they host the Slovenian National Team. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at O’Keefe Gym.
