Sept. 3, 2010
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Sophomore Monique Mead had a match-high 18 kills and senior Mary Ashley Tippins had her second double-double of the season with 31 assists and 11 digs as the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (3-1) swept Oral Roberts (2-3), 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-19) Friday morning in the first match of the Varney’s Kansas State Invitational.
“We played well for a game and a half,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “We did some good things, but still have a lot to work on. We need to get a lot better as the competition is only going to get better this weekend.”
Tippins had her second double-double in four matches this season, while senior Jordan McCullers led all players with 16 digs. The duo also combined for five service aces as Tech had nine total for the match.
Mead was the only player on either side to record double-figure kills. She hit .364 for the match and also added a couple of digs, three service aces and three block assists. Junior Asia Stawicka, junior Bailey Hunter and sophomore Susan Carlson had six kills apiece. Carlson also added eight digs. Georgia Tech hit .241 for the match and held Oral Roberts to .057.
In the first set, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to an 8-0 advantage and never looked back en route to a 25-11 win. Mead had seven kills and hit .417 in the opening set. The Jackets hit .424 as a team compared to ORU’s .000 clip.
Tech got out quick again in the second set and held a 6-2 early lead but Oral Roberts came back to tie and eventually take a 10-9 lead. The Yellow Jackets responded with four straight points to go up 13-10 and never relinquished the lead as they went on to win 25-20. Mead and Stawicka combined for nine kills in the set as Tech hit .146.
The third set was another quick start for the Yellow Jackets as they opened up a 10-4 lead and forced Oral Roberts into a timeout. ORU did not go quietly and chipped away to get within two points at 18-16 and force Tech to use a timeout. The jackets closed strong to win the set 25-19 and sweep their third consecutive match.
The Yellow Jackets continue play at the Varney’s Kansas State Invitational with a match against Loyola Marymount tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET. Live stats are available via Gametracker at RamblinWreck.com. Tomorrow, Georgia Tech closes out the tournament with an 8 p.m. ET match against host-Kansas State.
