Sept. 14, 2013
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team (4-5) defeated Connecticut (5-5) by a score of 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-20), Saturday in the finale of the Georgia Tech Courtyard Classic at O’Keefe Gym. Georgia Tech recorded six solo blocks, which ties for the fifth most in a single match in program history.
“It was nice to see us come together and play as a team instead of just people going out there and doing their own thing,” head coach Tonya Johnson said. “It was nice to see us put it all together. I think we are capable of being a good team if we can find some consistency of with what we do.”
Senior Quinn Evans recorded nine blocks in the match, three of them were solo stuffs, along with a .556 hitting percentage (5-for-9) en route to being named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore Chanell Clark-Bibbs was also named to the all-tournament team after hitting .231 on the weekend.
“I thought our block was sound tonight,” Johnson said. “I thought our middles a great job closing. I thought our pins did a great job setting the block. They did a night job of setting the block so that our second and third line of defense can play behind it which in turn gave us 59 digs in three sets which is pretty good number for three sets for digging.”
Against the Huskies, senior outside hitter Jennifer Percy tallied 12 kills to lead Tech’s offense and London Ackermann anchored the defense with 16 digs.
“We talk all the time about playing away from the ball and working hard in between plays,” Johnson said. “I thought our kids did a really nice job of playing well away from the ball and working hard between plays to put themselves in those positions to make plays on those balls.”
Two solo blocks from Clark-Bibbs within the first five points set the tempo for Georgia Tech, but the Huskies matched Tech point-for-point in the opening set. Down by one, 14-13, Tech went on a five-point streak to take an 18-14 lead.
The Jackets had set-point 24-23, but UConn fought its way back into the match and tied it 24-24. The teams traded set-point, but Tech regained the lead, 26-25 on a marathon volley and a Kaleigh Colson kill gave Tech the 27-25 win.
The second set featured eight tied scores and four lead changes. Georgia Tech took the lead for good at 11-10 on a UConn attacking error and the Jackets won the game, 25-18, on a solo block by Quinn Evans.
The Huskies came out of the break and jumped out to a 9-2 lead. The Jackets retaliated with a seven-point run of their own to tie the score 11-11. Tech tied the score again 15-15 on a kill from Annika Van Gunst and a Colson kill gave the Jackets their second lead of the set. The Jackets maintained the lead for the rest of the game and won the match with a 25-20 victory in the third set.
The Jackets are back in action Friday, Sept. 20 at the Tennessee Tournament. Tech takes on Tennessee at 7 p.m. ET.
