University of Georgia
Georgia Tech
Volleyball: Georgia Tech Edges Georgia, 3-2
September 11, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - The 2010 Bulldog Invitational concluded Saturday night with a five-set thriller that saw Georgia Tech edge Georgia, 3-2, in front of a standing-room only crowd of 2,276 at the Ramsey Student Center.
 Head coach Joel McCartney addresses the Bulldogs during a timeout.  | |
Georgia (7-3) took the first set 25-21 and Georgia Tech (5-4) squared the match by taking the second set 25-14. The two teams then battled in a suspenseful, extra-point third set that went to the Bulldogs 30-28. The Yellow Jackets bounced back to take the fourth frame, 25-22, to force the deciding set. In the fifth set, Georgia trailed by four on two instances at 10-6 and 12-8 but rallied to pull within one twice at 13-12 and 14-13 before the Georgia Tech picked up the final point to take the edge in the match 15-13. With the win, Georgia Tech stretches its winning streak to five-straight over Georgia including a pair of five-set matches over the past two seasons.
"I certainly know that Georgia Tech did the right things, and they were getting the ball to the players that were terminating," Georgia head coach Joel McCartney said. "They've got some special athletes over there doing the job. We put up a fight and did a great job of getting back in that fifth set after being down six to 10. The end result is really disappointing, but I couldn't be more proud of the team."
Georgia Tech's victory earned it a second-place finish in the Bulldog Invitational behind ninth-ranked Washington, who won the event with a perfect 3-0 record to improve to 8-0 on the year. Georgia went 1-2 in its home tournament while Florida Gulf Coast (2-9) finished 0-3.
In Saturday night's closely-contest match between in-state rivals, Georgia Tech held a slight edge with 70 kills on a .299 hitting percentage compared to Georgia's 68 kills on a .217 clip. The two teams were also near equals in digs with the Yellow Jackets recording 73 to Georgia's 68, but Georgia Tech picked up its advantage in the blocking category with 16.0 stops versus the Bulldogs' 8.5.
Leading the Yellow Jacket's in the contest was Monique Mead, who posted a double-double with a match-best 26 kills and 15 digs. Mead's offensive effort was supported by 19 kills from Bailey Hunter while the defensive effort was aided by Jordan McCullers 22 digs and Mary Ashley Tippins' 20 digs. Tippins' guided the Yellow Jacket offense to the tune of 60 assists to also finish with a double-double.
Georgia had an impressive five different players finish with double-digit kill totals in the match led by senior middle hitter Valentina Gonzalez's 16. Fellow senior Erika Clark provided her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and 12 digs. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Kathleen Luft added 11 kills while junior middle hitter Ann Dylla and freshman outside hitter Brittany Northcutt each added 10 kills. Gates paced the offensive output with 47 assists.
Defensively, junior libero Carla Tietz contributed a team-best 15 digs for the Bulldogs while freshman Alison Summer was close behind with 14 digs.
The crowd of 2,276 was the second-largest in the history of the Ramsey Student Center. The largest crowd came in 1995 when 2,633 saw Georgia play Florida. The seating capacity has been readjusted in recent years making Saturday night's attendance the largest under the current seating plan.
"It was incredible to have the support of the fans here," Gates said. "They were here 45-minutes before the match even started. It was just awesome to see the support that we had. It really added to the atmosphere and pushed us to play hard with the crowd behind us."
The 2010 Bulldog Invitational All-Tournament Team featured seven players with four coming from the tournament champion Huskies including the Most Valuable Player, Kindra Carlson, the Most Valuable Libero, Jenna Orlandini, Kelcey Dunaway and Bianca Rowland. Georgia Tech placed two on the team with Mean and Hunter while Georgia's Gonzalez round out the squad.
Up next, Georgia travels to Atlanta to face another in-state rival, Georgia State, on Tuesday. First serve between the Bulldogs and Panthers is slated for 5:30 p.m.
2010 Bulldog Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Kindra Carlson, #5, Washington - Most Valuable Player
Kelcey Dunaway, #2, Washington
Bianca Rowland, #15, Washington
Jenna Orlandini, #4, Washington - Most Valuable Libero
Bailey Hunter, #11, Georgia Tech
Monique Mean, #5, Georgia Tech
Valentina Gonzalez, #18, Georgia
2010 Bulldog Invitational Results:
Friday, Sept. 10:
Georgia Tech def. Florida Gulf Coast, 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-16)
#9 Washington def. Georgia, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-21)
Saturday, Sept. 11:
#9 Washington def. Georgia Tech, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-19)
Georgia def. Florida Gulf Coast, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18)
#9 Washington def. Florida Gulf Coast, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-14)
Georgia Tech def. Georgia, 3-2 (21-25, 25-14, 28-30, 25-22, 15-13)
