Nov. 28, 2004
For the second time in school history, the Georgia Tech volleyball team will host first and second round matches of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, beginning Friday and Saturday at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
The Jackets (25-6), will face Georgia (18-11) Friday at 5 p.m. followed by a match between No. 17 UC Santa Barbara (23-3) and Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alabama A&M (22-5) at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes following the first match.
The winner of Friday’s contests are scheduled to play Saturday at 2 p.m., with the survivor advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. All matches this weekend can be followed on livestats at www.ramblinwreck.com and matches which Georgia Tech plays in will be aired on WREK radio (91.1 FM) and can also be heard on the internet at www.wrek.org.
“We’re obviously very excited about having the opportunity to host,” said head coach Bond Shymansky, who has led the Yellow Jackets to the NCAA Tournament in each of his seasons as the head coach. “This is an excellent opportunity for our team to compete and advance in the NCAA Tournament. We are so excited to play in front of our home crowd and even more excited to play against Georgia. Even though we just played them this past week, we know that they are going to come with a new energy and excitement and are going to be a challenge. We are going to work hard this week in practice and make sure we are healthy and that we’re motivated to play our best volleyball right away.”
The Jackets, who captured the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and have enjoyed their third straight season with 25 or more wins, received one of 33 at-large bids to the tournament. Tech, who won 21 consecutive matches during the regular season, is making its eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth consecutive showing. The Jackets hold an all-time record of 7-7 in the tournament.
The match marks the 27th meeting between Tech and Georgia, with the Bulldogs holding the series edge, 20-6. In their meeting earlier this year, the Jackets won in three games and have now won six consecutive matches against the Bulldogs.
A total of two teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference were selected to the 64-team field as Maryland received the automatic bid and will face Towson University in State College, Penn.
Tickets to the event are available in advance by calling the Georgia Tech ticket office at 404-894-5447 or 1-888-TECH-TIX. Tournament booklets for all matches are $10 for adults, $6 for students and senior citizens and must be picked up prior to the event at the Georgia Tech ticket office. Day of game tickets for individual matches are $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens are subject to availability and will only be sold at O’Keefe Gymnasium, beginning one hour prior to the match. One ticket gains admission to both matches on Friday.
