Nov. 15, 2005
Freshman outside hitter Talisa Kellogg recorded 30 kills for the second time this season and hit .311 to lead the Georgia Tech volleyball team to a 3-2 (28-30, 30-23, 30-32, 16-14) come-from behind win at Clemson Tuesday night. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 15-12, 11-7 ACC while the Tigers fall to 11-15, 6-12 ACC.
Four players ended the match with double-figure kills for Tech as Ulli Stegemann and Laura DeMichelis each had 18 while Miller ended the night with 14 kills and hit .565. Lindsey Laband finished with a season-best 74 assists in the match helping the team to a .248 hitting percentage. In addition, Nikki Kaminskas had four kills and hit .400 in the match.
Defensively, Jennifer Randall posted a match-high 29 digs to lead all players while Lindsey Gray and Laband each ended with 14 and Abby Showers added 12. At the net, Laband and Stegemann each had five blocks while Miller and Kaminskas each added four.
In game one, the Jackets led early at 5-2 before the Tigers tied the game at 10-10. The Jackets then went ahead at 16-14 but an overpass by Kellogg and a hitting error by Laband tied the game again at 16-16. Clemson would then build a 24-28 lead on a hitting error by Miller but the Jackets closed to within one with a kill from DeMichelis to make it 28-29 but a Clemson overpass off serve reception led to the games final point, 30-28.
Tech’s offense was strong in game two as the team hit .359. The Jackets fell behind early in the game at 1-4 but got things going and tied the game at 6-6 on one of six kills in the game from DeMichelis. Tech never looked back in the game winning the final two points with kills from Kellogg and taking the game, 30-23.
Game three was close with 13 ties in the game. Tech led throughout most of the game and held game point at 29-27 with a stuff block from Laband and Kaminskas. Clemson then made the score 29-28 with a kill from Brittany Ross and then scored on a hitting error from Kellogg. Kellogg responded with a kill of her own making the score 30-29 but then a hitting error from Gray tied the game at 30-30. Tech then recorded another hitting error from Stegemann and a kill from Danielle Hepburn from the Tigers gave Clemson the game, 32-30.
The Jackets regrouped back in game four to send the match into the fifth and final game. With Tech leading 19-18, the Jackets went on a 11-4 run to close out the game scoring on two straight blocks from Laband and Miller and also getting a kill from Miller to win the game, 30-22.
In the fifth and final game, there were nine ties, making the game exciting. With the Jackets trailing 10-11, Kellogg recorded three straight kills to make the score 13-11 but Clemson responded with a kill from Ross to push the score to 13-12. Clemson then tied the game at 13-13 on a hitting error from Kellogg, but Kellogg came right back with a kill down the line to give Tech a 14-13 lead. Ross came back with a kill through the hands to make it 14-14 but then on the next play, Stegemann recorded a kill into the right corner of the court to give Tech a 15-14 lead. On the game’s final play, Nikki and Stegemann recorded a stuff block to give the Jackets the game, 16-14.
In the battle between Clemson’s Jeannette Abbott and Kellogg, the leading candidates for ACC Rookie of the Year, Kellogg averaged over six kills a game on the night while Abbott ended with 18 kills, a .161 percentage and 14 digs.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Friday traveling to take on Boston College Friday at 8 p.m.
