Nov. 4, 2004
Georgia Tech volleyball team (19-5, 12-0 ACC) closes out its 2004 conference schedule with its final ACC matches at home in O’Keefe as the Yellow Jackets will face Duke (16-8, 7-5 ACC) Friday followed by a meeting against Wake Forest (10-13, 2-10 ACC) Sunday.
Tech enters its final matches of conference competition as the ACC regular season champions, having clinched at least a share of the title with its 3-0 win over Miami last week. A victory over Duke or Wake Forest will give the Jackets the regular season title outright.
“It’s a good feeling to know that we’ve won another ACC regular season title as that was one of our team goals this season,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “Our players and staff have worked hard to get to this point, but we still have a number of challenges ahead of us and can’t rely on what we’ve accomplished as we play our final home matches this weekend.”
Friday at 7 p.m. the Jackets will take on the Blue Devils. The meeting with Duke marks the 45th time the two teams have met, with the Blue Devils holding the edge, 28-16. Tech has won the last five meetings against Duke, including a 3-0 win earlier this season by the scores of 30-22, 30-21, 30-26. As a team, Tech hit .360 and were led by Lynnette Moster, who had 21 kills and hit .559 and Jayme Gergen who had 13 kills and hit .520. Lindsey Laband dished out 52 assists and Marisa Aston had a match-high 17 digs. The Yellow Jackets’ played solid defense, recording 9 blocks in the match and recording 69 digs.
On Sunday at 2 p.m., the Jackets will turn their attention to Wake Forest in a match which will be televised on a tape-delay basis by Fox Sports Net South. The contest with the Demon Deacons marks the 24th meeting between the two schools, with Tech leading the series, 18-6. The Jackets enter the meeting on a 10-match win streak and have not falled to Wake Forest since a defeat in the 1999 ACC Tournament. Earlier this season, Tech swept the Demon Deacons in three games, 30-22, 30-14, 30-23. In that match, Lauren Sauer recorded 16 kills and hit .355 while Gergen turned in 10 kills and hit .714. while Laband notched 41 assists and Moster recorded 14 digs.
Sunday’s match will also mark the final home match for seniors Marisa Aston, Jayme Gergen, Laura Kuhn, Lynnette Moster and Lauren Sauer.
“It’s hard to believe that it’s already time to honor our seniors Sunday,” said Shymansky. “Each one of them has been such an important part of our program over the last four years and will surely be missed next season. Hopefully our team will work extra hard to make the afternoon a special one for them.”
