Aug. 27, 2011
ATLANTA – After dropping the first two sets, the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (3-0) came back to beat Louisville (2-1), 3-2 (12-25, 15-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-11) and capture the Courtyard Marriott Classic title Saturday night at O’Keefe Gym. This marks the second time in three years under head coach Tonya Johnson the Yellow Jackets have begun the season 3-0.
Junior Monique Mead tied a career-high with 30 kills as she was named MVP of the tournament. It was her second career 30-kill match and the 13th time it’s happened In Tech history. Junior Nicki Meyer, who had a career-high 16 digs, was named the Most Valuable Libero. Joining them on the All-Tournament team were sophomore Jennifer Percy and freshman Ali Santi. Percy had seven kills tonight while Santi had a double-double of 41 assists and 14 digs.
The Yellow Jackets hit .201 on the night while Louisville converted at a .286 clip. Seniors Asia Stawicka and Bailey Hunter added six kills apiece as Stawicka hit .500.
Louisville went on a 9-1 run in the first set to take a commanding 13-5 lead and never looked back as the Jackets fell 25-12. The Yellow Jackets were unable to get a run together and fell behind in the match. Tech hit just .032 for the set while Louisville was a blistering .560. Mead led Tech with four kills.
Set two was much of the same as Louisville raced out to an 11-4 lead and forced Tech into an early timeout. The Yellow Jackets tried to chip away but could never get any closer than five points as the Cardinals took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-15 victory. Mead led Tech again with four kills but the Jackets hit just -.031.
Georgia Tech came back to win the third set as it built up a six-point lead at 14-8 and forced Louisville into a timeout. Every time the Cardinals would make a run to get within four points, Tech had an answer and went on to win 25-19 and pull within a set in the match. The Yellow Jackets hit .556 in the third set and were led by 11 kills from Mead as she hit .714.
In the fourth set, the Yellow Jackets used a 6-1 run to open up a 15-10 lead and hung on for dear life as Louisville kept trying to get back in it. The Cardinals closed to within a point at 20-19 but after a timeout, Georgia Tech went on to win 25-21 and force the deciding set. Mead had seven more kills as the Jackets hit .379 to set up the dramatic fifth and final set.
The Yellow Jackets completed the comeback by winning a wild fifth set. After taking a 6-2 lead, Louisville stormed back and eventually tied the set at eight. The Cardinals held a brief 10-9 lead but Tech finished with six of the final seven points to close out the win.
Georgia Tech now hits the road for the first time this season as it heads to Houston, Texas next weekend for the Rice Tournament. Tech will face Texas-San Antonio on Friday, Sept. 2 at 2:30 p.m. ET and then take on Houston Baptist (Noon ET) and Rice (8 p.m. ET) the next day. Fans can follow all of the action with live stats at RamblinWreck.com.
