Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield described Georgia Tech’s cozy home venue as a “sardine can” on the pregame radio show.
The margin for error in the first set seemed like the size of a sardine can, too, but the sixth-ranked Badgers ultimately prevailed against No. 21 Georgia Tech in relatively comfortable fashion, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19, in their first road match of the season.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Grace Egan has another stellar start
Grace Egan’s serving prowess captured the spotlight in UW’s Sept. 9 win over UW-Milwaukee, as she had five service aces in the first set alone.
Fast-forward three days, and a different aspect of Egan’s skill set stood out early in the Badgers’ win over the Yellow Jackets.
The Ohio State transfer had a team-best nine kills on 12 attacks in the first set, including six in UW’s first 12 points. While many of her kills showcased her arm power, her scoring versatility was on display as a light tap resulted in her eighth kill of the set.
Georgia Tech fared a little better against Egan’s attacks later in the match. She finished with 14 kills and six attack errors — more than the rest of the Badgers combined — which resulted in a .364 hitting percentage.
“We went to her a lot early,” Sheffield said after the match on the Wisconsin radio broadcast. “She had a ton of success at the start of that first set, made a few errors down the stretch. But — .364, 14 kills in three sets — we’ll take that all the time.”
Egan had other impressive plays that will not show up on the box score, including back-to-back serves that literally knocked Georgia Tech’s Sofia Velez to the ground. The outside hitter also showed the agility to stay out of the way of a ball heading out of bounds off a Georgia Tech block attempt.
Mimi Colyer was almost perfect against another ranked foe
Mimi Colyer was almost perfect against Georgia Tech, racking up 19 kills with only two attack errors. She hit an efficient .567 while having more than one-third of the Badgers’ total attack attempts.
Her first attack error was not until early in the third set — after her 13th kill of the night. The second was close enough that a challenge seemed possible (although Sheffield opted not to do so).
Colyer has been dominant in her first and only season with the Badgers. She has finished each of UW’s first six matches with at least 11 kills. Her 19 kills against Georgia Tech were second only to her 26 kills in Wisconsin’s five-set win over then-No. 14 Kansas.
The Oregon transfer’s 99 kills not only lead the Badgers, but are more than the next two UW players combined. (Egan has 51 kills, and Una Vajagic has 42 kills.) She already had the Big Ten lead for kills per set before the Georgia Tech match with 5.0. That’s up to 5.21 after UW’s fifth win of the season.
Wisconsin’s defense improves as match progresses
The relatively close first set — with four ties and two lead changes, compared to one tie each and no lead changes in the second and third sets — coincided with Wisconsin’s worst set of the match from a defensive standpoint.
Georgia Tech hit .600 and had a 66.7% sideout percentage in the opening set.
The Badgers improved defensively in the second and third sets, however, in their first road match of the season. Georgia Tech hit a mere .200 in the second set and .219 in the third set.
Carter Booth had a team-high three blocks. The Yellow Jackets finished with a .280 hitting percentage and 58.9% sideout percentage.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin at Georgia Tech volleyball takeaways: Mimi Colyer, Grace Egan shine in road win
Reporting by John Steppe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
