Oct. 30, 2008
PHOTO GALLERY: The Jackets decorated O’Keefe Gym Thursday night.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech volleyball team returns to Atlanta to host Virginia Tech (17-5, 8-3 ACC) and Virginia (13-10, 5-6 ACC) this weekend. The Yellow Jackets (15-6, 7-4 ACC) host the Hokies Friday at 7 p.m. for “Volleyballoween” before meeting the Cavaliers at 8 p.m. Saturday in an O’Keefe Gym “Gold Out.” (More info found below)
This Weekend’s Matches:
Friday: Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (Volleyballoween)
Saturday: Georgia Tech vs. Virginia, 8 p.m. (Gold Out)
Tech is 4-1 over its last five matches and had a string of four consecutive 3-0 wins snapped last Sunday in a 3-1 defeat at North Carolina. The Jackets will have their hands full this weekend, meeting one of the three teams tied atop the ACC standings in Virginia Tech, as well as a Virginia team that has pushed two of the three league leaders to five sets. The Cavaliers currently stand ninth in the ACC standings.
Game Coverage: Gametracker for both matches can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com, while a live video feed of the match against Virginia Tech is available on ACC Select (www.accselect.com) for a small fee.
Weekend Events
This weekend, Georgia Tech will host its first-annual Volleyballoween at O’Keefe Gym when the Hokies come to town. The volleyball team hopes to have the entire gym decked out in Halloween costumes, and the players will have the facility decorated to welcome the Hokies and former Yellow Jacket All-American Jayme Gergen back to town. There will be candy given out at the door to all Tech fans that enter dressed for the event, as well as multiple chances throughout the match to obtain more goodies. Fans will also have the chance to win Georgia Tech volleyball gear and other prizes throughout the match. Members of Georgia Tech’s women’s sports teams will be on hand to assist in Volleyballoween, including the women’s basketball, softball, swimming and diving and track and field squads. The women’s basketball team will begin collecting Yoplait Lids for the competition between Georgia Tech and Georgia for the “Save Lids, Save Lives Challenge.” For more information on how to get involved, contact Laura McCaslin in the Georgia Tech marketing office.
Saturday night, Tech will host Virginia for “Gold Out,” where the Jackets hope to have all fans in attendance dressed in gold for the match against the Cavaliers. Tech will give away gold t-shirts to the first 300 Yellow Jacket fans in attendance for Gold Out. The match is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., immediately following the conclusion of Tech’s football game against Florida State.
Tech vs. the Opponents (Tech leads Virginia, 26-17, GT leads VT, 6-4)
Georgia Tech holds a 26-17 lead in the series against Virginia and is 11-3 vs. the Cavaliers under head coach Bond Shymansky after winning a 3-1 match in Charlottesville Sept. 26. The Yellow Jackets and Cavs split the season series a year ago, with each team earning a five-set win against the other on the road. Tech’s win over Virginia late in the 2007 season snapped a three-match winning streak by the Cavaliers which followed an 11-match winning streak by the Yellow Jackets.
The Yellow Jackets earned wins in both matches against the Hokies a year ago but lost a 3-0 match in Blacksburg on Sept. 27 to fall to 6-4 all-time against Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech is 5-3 against Virginia Tech under head coach Bond Shymansky and has earned three of its six wins against the Hokies in Atlanta.
The O’Keefe Effect
The Yellow Jackets have posted a stellar 155-45 (.775) record at O’Keefe Gymnasium since the volleyball team began playing matches there in 1995. Georgia Tech has won at least 10 matches at O’Keefe Gym in each of the last seven seasons and 83 of its 102 home matches (.820) under head coach Bond Shymansky.
Tech’s success at home is partially due to the remarkable crowd support that the Yellow Jackets receive each and every match. Georgia Tech is currently ranked 16th for highest attendance at women’s volleyball matches and is averaging more than 1,600 fans per match at O’Keefe Gym.
