On Friday, Oct. 1, the Tech’s women’s volleyball team travelled to Charlottesville, Va. where the Jackets defeated the Cavaliers 3-1 for their first ACC win.
Sophomore right side hitter Monica Mead led the night with 22 kills while freshman outside hitter Jennifer Percy racked up a career high 17 kills. Junior middle blocker Asia Stawicka and junior outside hitter Bailey Hunter both added 11 kills each. On the night, Tech hit .308 as a team and had 12 blocks.
In Tech’s first and only losing set of the night, the Cavs used a 5-0 run to win 25-19. Down for most of the set, the Jackets scored three in a row to close the gap to 15-14, only to be followed by five straight points by UVA. The Cavaliers would score five of the next 10 to win the first set.
Tech once again trailed during most of the second set but amassed five in a row to close out the set, 26-24.
Five blocks, including two solos by Percy, allowed the Jackets to take the lead in the end of the third set after being down 23-22 following a 5-2 run by UVA. The Jackets scored the last four points for the win.
Tech’s most decisive victory of the night came in the fourth set. An 11-4 run by the Jackets put them ahead 17-10. The Cavs would not come within five points of Tech for the remainder of the set, with the final score at 25-17.
The next day, the Jackets traveled southwest from UVA to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech. Coming back from a deficit of 2-1, Georgia Tech outscored Virginia Tech in the final two sets and clinched the 3-2 win.
Hunter led the Jackets in kills with a career-high of 24 while Mead, Percy and Stawicka contributed with crucial kills of their own. Senior setter Mary Ashley Tippins recorded her eighth double-double so far this season (her seventh on the night before) with 51 assists and 11 digs. Senior libero Jordan McCullers once again reached 24 digs, tying her season high.
The Hokies took an early lead with a 5-0 run and were able to maintain that momentum throughout the set. A 7-0 run by the Jackets brought Georgia Tech within two points of the Hokies, but the Jackets then allowed another two points by Virginia Tech, who closed out the set 25-21.
The Jackets came back early in the second set with an 8-1 run to take a 12-4 lead. Virginia Tech never came closer than three points for the rest of the set, and after scoring the final five points, the Jackets won 25-17, tying the match up with one set each.
After a great lead in the third by the Jackets, the Hokies rallied a 6-1 run to tie the set at 17. No team lead by more than two points until VT’s three in a row to win the set 26-24.
Even after an impressive 8-1 run by Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech was able to send the match to a fifth set with a 6-1 run after an 18-18 tie in the fourth.
VT was down by more than four points for the entire fifth as the Jackets went on to win 15-9 and rack up its second ACC win of the season.