Nov. 12, 2009
Volleyball Weekend Promo
ATLANTA – After spending three of the last four weekends on the road, the Georgia Tech Volleyball team (18-7, 12-3 ACC) opens up a four-match homestand this weekend against Miami (Friday, 6 p.m.) and No. 15 Florida State (Saturday, 4 p.m.). Saturday’s match against the Seminoles is the annual “Gold Out” and all fans are encouraged to wear their gold.
Georgia Tech begins play this weekend tied with Duke for second place in the ACC and two matches behind first-place FSU. Miami is 15-10 overall and in sixth-place in the ACC with an 8-7 mark. FSU, meanwhile, is 23-2 overall and 14-1 in league play. The Seminoles’ only loss in conference play came at the hands of the Yellow Jackets earlier this season in Tallahassee. FSU’s only other loss the entire year was to then-No. 8 Florida and the Seminoles take an 11-match winning streak to Clemson on Friday night.
“It’s nice to be back at home in front of our fans,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “Both Miami and Florida State are excellent all-around teams so we’re in for a battle all weekend long. I hope our fans can really come out and pack O’Keefe to give us a tremendous home-court advantage like they’ve done throughout the season.”
Please note the following parking restrictions for the FSU match on Saturday. Due to the men’s basketball game at 7 p.m., volleyball fans will not be able to park in either the Alexander Memorial Coliseum or O’Keefe parking lots. Fans are encouraged to park in either Peter’s Parking Deck, 6th Street or Techwood Drive.
The Yellow Jackets split with the two Sunshine State schools earlier this season. They upset then-No. 17 Florida State, 3-2, but then fell by an identical score to Miami. On Oct. 2, 19 kills and 14 digs by freshman Monique Mead helped Tech register its first win on the road over a ranked team since knocking off No. 5 Nebraska, 3-2, on Sept. 14, 2003. Tech won all three of its sets in extra points and was down 2-1 for the match and overcame a 23-20 deficit in the fourth set to begin the come-back.
Sophomore Bailey Hunter recorded double-figure kills for the 12th straight match against FSU as she had 14 to go along with five digs. Senior Chrissy DeMichelis chipped in with 11 kills, five total blocks (three solo) and four digs for the Yellow Jackets. Junior Mary Ashley Tippins hit .571 on the night as she contributed with four kills, eight digs and 49 assists. Junior Jordan McCullers also added 14 digs for the Jackets.
Two days later, Tech suffered its first ACC loss of the season to the host Hurricanes by a 3-2 score. Mead tallied her sixth double-double of the season as she had 18 kills, 10 digs and three total blocks. Junior Mary Ashley Tippins notched her first double-double of the season as she had a match-high 60 assists to go along with 10 digs. Senior Chrissy DeMichelis had 17 kills, while senior Brittany Roderick had 12 kills, five digs and hit .381.
Stawicka enters play this weekend fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.363) and fifth in blocks (1.10/set). The Jackets are the only school in the ACC with three players in the top 10 in kills as Hunter ranks fifth (3.29/set), Mead is seventh (3.04) and DeMichelis is ninth (2.93). Tippins currently ranks first in the ACC and 17th in the nation with her 11.31 assists per set.
