Sept. 1, 2001
The #25 Georgia Tech (2-1) volleyball team got back on a winning track on Saturday as they defeated Rhode Island(0-3) in three games, 30-18, 31-29, 30-24, in its final match of the Utah Classic. The Yellow Jackets were led by Maja Pachale who tallied 16 kills, while Kyleen Bell tallied 15 kills, five blocks and an impressive .700 hitting percentage. Kele Eveland tallied a team-high 13 digs and notched 37 assists. The Jackets hit a season high .361 as a team, while holding the Rams to a .135 team hitting percentage.
Tech controlled game one, building a 23-12 lead and never looked back. Amanda Hess and Kyleen Bell led Tech as they each recorded five kills in the game, followed by Dori Pap who had two. Defensively, Kele Eveland notched five digs, while Bell tallied three block assists. Tech hit an impressive .471 in the game, winning by the score of 30-18.
In game two, Tech fell behind 9-16, but fought back hard behind solid defense from Eveland, who notched six digs, and strong offense from Maja Pachale who collected 10 kills. The Jackets tied the score at 23-23 on a kill from Hess and then the two teams battled back and forth until Tech grabbed the lead at 30-29 on two straight kills from Pachale. A Rhode Island hitting error allowed the Jackets to win game two, 31-29.
Game three saw the Jackets lead by the score of 11-6, but the Rams fought back to tie the score at 15-15. With the score 25-23, the Jackets pulled away to win the final game 30-24, on kills from Bell, Pap, Lynnette Moster, and a stuff block from Bell and Moster.
“Our goal was to play everybody on our roster and to win, and we were able to do that with a number of people making significant contributions,” said head coach Shelton Collier. “Being able to do that is going to really help us over the course of the season.”
No. 25 Georgia Tech will return to action on Friday when it takes on #14 Colorado State (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium in the Georgia Tech Classic. For ticket information, please call 1-888-Tech-Tix.
