Nov. 15, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech volleyball team, riding a four-match winning streak and victor of eight of their last nine matches, closes out its home schedule with matches against Miami (12-15, 6-12 ACC) and Florida State (14-12, 11-7 ACC) this weekend. The Yellow Jackets (19-9, 13-5 ACC), who stand in third place in the ACC standings behind Clemson (17-1 ACC) and Duke (15-3), meet Miami Friday at 7 p.m. and face Florida State Saturday at 7 p.m. to wrap up the home schedule.
Prior to Saturday’s match, the Yellow Jackets will honor their three seniors, Lindsey Gray, Nikki Kaminskas and Ulrike Stegemann, who will be playing in their final match at O’Keefe Gym.
“This is a big weekend for our three seniors,” head coach Bond Shymansky said. “I know they are excited about finishing their final homestand strong. They have been great contributors to our success and unity of the team.”
Match Coverage: Live online video for Friday’s match will be available on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv) while both matches can be heard on WREK Radio (91.1 FM/www.wrek.org). Live stats for all Tech home matches are found at RamblinWreck.com.
Match Promotions: The Yellow Jackets welcome all club teams for just $1 admission (while parents of those club members can enter for $2) Friday night against the Hurricanes. Saturday is Greek Appreciation Night, with the fraternity/sorority with the most in attendance receiving a free pizza dinner at the match. Tech will also allow all fans with a football ticket stub from the game earlier in the day to enter for $1.
The Yellow Jackets’ offense is run by setter Allie Niekamp (11.71 Apg, 1.93 Dpg) and led by junior captain Talisa Kellogg (3.99 Kpg, 1.18 Dpg) while Chrissy DeMichelis (3.61 Kpg) and Ulrike Stegemann (3.04 Kpg, 1.98 Dpg) are both averaging at least three kills per game. Junior record-holder Michelle Kandell has been a game-saver on the back row, averaging a team-best 4.85 digs per game, while Nikki Kaminskas (1.04 Bpg) leads Tech’s blocking efforts.
Tech vs. the Opponents (GT leads UM, 4-2; GT leads FSU, 25-9)
The Jackets and Hurricanes will meet for the seventh time in history on the volleyball court this Friday, with Tech holding a 4-2 edge in the series. All six of the previous meetings have come under Bond Shymansky, and three have taken place in Atlanta, where Miami holds the 2-1 edge. Tech is a perfect 3-0 against Miami in Coral Gables. Tech has taken each of the last two matches from the Hurricanes, but is looking for its first victory against Miami in Atlanta since a 3-0 win on Oct. 30, 2004.
Georgia Tech is 25-9 all-time against Florida State and 9-3 vs. the Seminoles under head coach Bond Shymansky. The two teams have split the last two matches, with the Seminoles getting the best of the Jackets, 3-1, earlier this season in Tallahassee. Tech plays better against Florida State at home, holding a 14-3 record against the Seminoles at O’Keefe Gym.
Rising to the Occasion
With a victory on Nov 8, 2007 over then-No. 14 Duke, Georgia Tech continued its streak of recording at least one victory against a ranked opponent in each of the six years under current head coach Bond Shymansky.
In his first season at the helm of the program, Shymansky’s team faced seven ranked teams, winning three of the seven matches. The next season resulted in five wins over ranked opponents for the Yellow Jackets, with its only loss against a ranked team coming in the Elite Eight vs. No. 2 Hawai’i. Tech has since recorded one win against a ranked opponent in each of the last four seasons.
Overall under Shymansky, the Yellow Jackets are 12-12 against ranked opponents after falling, 3-2, at No. 10 Michigan earlier this season, 3-2 at No. 13 Duke in mid-October, and 3-1 at Clemson last Tuesday before stopping No. 14 Duke, 3-1, last weekend.
Success for Tech Continues
With a victory at Virginia on Nov. 4, the Yellow Jackets guaranteed themselves an above-.500 finish for the 17th-consecutive year, dating back through the 1991 season. During that span, Tech has averaged more than 24.7 wins per season and just 9.8 losses.
The win at Virginia also guaranteed one more accomplishment for the Yellow Jackets: a .500 or above finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the eighth-consecutive season, which is the most successful run of any ACC team during that span. Virginia has finished .500 or above in the ACC in each of the past five seasons while Duke and Florida State have both had at least a .500 conference winning percentage every year since 2004.
Florida State Match Set for 7 p.m.
Due to conflicts with the Georgia Tech football schedule, three match times were set for TBA prior to the season, so as to not interfere with games at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The match time against Florida State has been set for 7 p.m. due to the 12 noon Georgia Tech – North Carolina football game start time.
Match at Boston College Moved to 5 p.m.
Georgia Tech’s match at Boston College on Wednesday, Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving, has been moved to a 5 p.m. start.
Jackets Hard to Stop at O’Keefe
Georgia Tech has posted a stellar 149-42 (.780) record at O’Keefe Gym since the volleyball team began playing matches there in 1995. Tech has won at least 10 matches at O’Keefe in each of the last six seasons and needs just one victory this weekend to make it seven in a row, and has won 77 of its 91 home matches (.846) under head coach Bond Shymansky.
Up Next: Tech wraps up the regular season on the road, traveling to Boston College for a Wednesday match, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., before meeting Maryland in College Park for the season finale Friday at 2 p.m. Live stats for both matches will be available at RamblinWreck.com.
