Friday night in Atlanta, the crowd was electric, and their energy took me back to my college days. It was an ACC vs SEC rivalry at it’s best. This rivalry was so big, the game was moved from O’Keefe Gymnasium to McCamish Pavilion. Fans still packed the place out. And they were treated to a good match.
Rivalries seldom disappoint, and this one lived up to the expectations.
- Georgia topped #23 Georgia Tech in a five-set match: 3-2
- Ga Tech won Set one (25-23) and Set Three (29-27).
- Georgia took Sets 2 (25-20), Set 4 (25-19), and the deciding Set Five (15-10).
Tech out-killed Georgia slightly with 64 kills to Georgia’s 61, but made more attack errors (36) compared to Georgia’s 15. Overall hitting percentage was much better for Georgia (about .295) than Tech (.157). Their service game was lackluster. Georgia committed 16 more service errors than Tech (22 – 6).
Lameen Mambu had a big night for Tech with 17 kills, while Annika Groom set a career high for kills.
GA Tech had moments of consistently strong play early, especially in the sets they won. They were unable to maintain that consistency throughout the match because of errors. Georgia capitalized on Tech’s errors when they really needed to.
Georgia middle blocker Molly Kate Patten called the win “Top tier,” as she reflected on the meaning of a victory over a rival as a Georgia native. Georgia added distance to their lead in the series 26-20.