Sept. 23, 2003
Alexandra Preiss recorded 14 kills and Lauren Sauer 13 as the No. 5 Georgia Tech volleyball team opened the conference season with a win, sweeping NC State in three games, 30-14, 30-18, 30-27 Tuesday night. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 12-0, 1-0 ACC while the Wolfpack fall to 6-8, 0-1 ACC.
“We played well early in the match but still have a lot of things to work on like focus and execution,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “Our offense was pretty efficient but our defense seemed to lack intensity. It was good to get some conference experience for our younger players. Now we will return to the gym to begin preparation for North Carolina.”
Tech’s offense was the difference in the match as the Jackets hit .333 while holding the Wolfpack to a .108 percentage. Defensively, Tech recorded 50 digs to NC State’s 36 as Keight Vincent led the way with 11 digs and Marisa Aston followed with 10.
In game one, the score was 5-4 before Vincent served three points and the Jackets scored on kills from Moster and Preiss. After a timeout by the Wolfpack, Tech went on a 16-6 scoring run as the Jackets scored on three kills from Sauer and a service ace from Preiss. The Wolfpack went on a mini-run scoring on hitting errors by the Jackets, but a sideout from Preiss made the score 27-13 and Tech scored the games’ final point on a kill down the line from Moster. Preiss led the way with five kills in the game, followed by four from Moster while Aston chipped in four digs.
Game two began much the same way until the Jackets scored five points behind the serving of Vincent and with kills from Moster and Preiss making the score 12-5. After a timeout, Vincent missed her serve, but Tech immediately got the ball back on a kill from Preiss to make the score 13-6. The Jackets then went on a 9-7 scoring run and built a 22-13 lead on a stuff block from Preiss and Sauer. Abby Showers entered the match with the score 24-14 and recorded three kills, including the final point of the game, as Tech won 30-18. Preiss and Sauer led the team with six kills a piece while Vincent tallied six digs in the game and Eveland notched 21 assists.
In the third game, the Wolfpack came out strong and kept the game close on kills from Kosoko and Wyatt. With the score 17-19, the Jackets scored on a kill down the middle of the net from Preiss and then Vincent served six points recording an ace to give Tech a 23-19 lead. The Wolfpack closed the score to 22-23 on a kill from Kosoko. The Jackets went on to win the game, 30-27, as Ragan served the final point out of bounds.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. when they face the Tar Heels of North Carolina in Carmichael Auditorium.
