Oct. 29, 2017
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech volleyball (11-12, 6-6 ACC) downed Wake Forest (11-13, 3-9 ACC), 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Head coach Michelle Collier says:
“I’m very proud of how we came out of the locker room in set three and how we fought through some adversity in set four to finish the match. We will use the momentum of this win to carry over for two tough road matches next week. We need to be a better team by Friday, and we will get to work so we can perform better on the road than we have been so far this season.”
How it happened:
The Jackets came out hot, jumping to an early 7-2 lead to start the match. The Demon Deacons fought back, tying the match at 11-11 but a kill from freshman Cori Clifton kept Tech ahead. The Demon Deacons knotted up the match again at 17-17 but back-to-back kills for the Jackets from seniors Sydney Wilson and Gabriela Stavnetchei, followed by a service ace from freshman Alessia Del Romano put Tech back on top at 20-17. The Jackets held onto the lead and only allowed two more points from the Demon Deacons, sealing the set at 25-19.
Wake Forest took the lead early in the second at 7-5. Stavnetchei threw down a kill to spark a 5-0 run for the Jackets to take over the lead and force the Demon Deacons to call a timeout as Clifton gave Tech the 10-7 advantage. Wake Forest came back to tie the set at 13-13 and take the lead at 14-13 but a kill from Wilson followed by a service ace from senior Ashley Askin gave the lead back to Tech. The two teams traded points to a tie at 18-18 before a kill from Stavnetchei and a block off the hands of sophomore Kodie Comby and Clifton gave Tech the 20-18 edge. The teams battled to another tie at 23-23 and Wake Forest tallied the final two points of the set to take the second at 25-23 and tie the match at a set each.
The Jackets came out of the locker room looking to rebound, tallying seven unanswered points and causing Wake Forest to use up both its timeouts as Tech led 7-0. Wake Forest couldn’t get anything going and the Jackets would extend their lead to double digits off a kill from Stavnetchei at 15-5. Tech would easily pocket the set at 25-10 for the 2-1 lead.
Wake Forest jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth, forcing the Jackets to take a timeout. Tech brought it back within one at 12-11 off back-to-back blocks. Wilson tied up the match at 13-13 and put Tech ahead by one forcing Wake Forest to use its second timeout. The Jackets grew their lead to as much as five at 19-14 but once again Wake Forest came back, tying the set at 20-20. The Demon Deacons went ahead at 22-21 and were posed to take the set at 24-22. Clifton kept the Jackets in it and Tech tied the set at 24-24. Battling back and forth, Tech had set point three times before Stavnetchei and Wilson combined for a block to seal the win at 28-26 for the White and Gold.
Up next:
Tech is back on the road next weekend, traveling to Blacksburg, Va. on Friday, Nov. 3 for a 6:30 p.m. matchup with Virginia Tech before heading to Charlottesville on Saturday, Nov. 4 to face Virginia at 7 p.m.
Quick hits:
– Cori Clifton tied her career high with five blocks.
– Alessia Del Romano had a career high 15 digs.
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