Sept. 4, 2006
ATLANTA – Sophomore Allie Niekamp was named Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. Niekamp led Georgia Tech to the Regency Suites Midtown Invitational title last weekend, tallying 190 assists.
“Our whole team played well this weekend, but it couldn’t have happened without Allie’s setting play,” said Tech coach Bond Shymansky. “She was smart, cunning, competitive and tough. After spraining her ankle on Friday night, it looked like she might not be able to continue, but she stuck in there and helped the team take down Georgia. Then, to get up on Saturday morning and do it all over again, and even better, was impressive.”
Niekamp, a sophomore from Findlay, Ohio, tallied Tech’s third ever triple-double against Mississippi State in Tech’s opener. She finished the match with 10 kills, 44 assists and 10 digs against the Bulldogs.
After an opening loss, Niekamp led Tech to a 3-2 win over archrival Georgia, adding a season-high 60 assists, and tallied eight digs and seven kills.
On Saturday, Niekamp led the Yellow Jackets to a pair of victories over Georgia State (3-0) and Northern Iowa (3-2). Against the GSU Panthers, Niekamp had 31 assists, six digs and three kills in a sweep. She added 55 assists, five kills and four digs against UNI to lead the Yellow Jackets to the championship.
Tech will hit the road this weekend for the University of Kentucky Volleyball Tournament. Tech will face Villanova and Toledo on Friday, before taking on UK on Saturday. All games can be followed at www.ramblinwreck.com.
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