Oct. 3, 2008
ATLANTA – Michelle Kandell tallied a team-best 14 digs on a night when the Yellow Jackets raised nearly $1,500 for charity, and Georgia Tech (11-3, 3-1 ACC) swept Florida State (9-5, 1-3 ACC) by a 3-0 score (25-21, 25-16, 25-17) Friday night at O’Keefe Gym.
The Yellow Jackets, participating in their third “Dig for the Cure” charity event that raises money to help find the cure for breast cancer, recorded 45 digs in the three-set match.
“It was a fantastic night for our Dig for the Cure event,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bond Shymansky. “Both teams played great defense, and we’re proud to be helping in the fight against breast cancer.”
Tech’s defense was stingy all night, holding the Seminoles to a .063 hitting percentage for the match, including a .000 mark in the third set. Conversely, the Jackets’ offense hit .289 on the night, with Talisa Kellogg posting a match-best 11 kills while Callie Miller and Brittany Roderick added seven apiece.
“We executed very well tonight as a team, getting strong contributions from everybody,” Shymansky said. “Our blocking and defense was especially tuned in, and it really allowed us to stymie Florida State’s offense.
Tech notched 10 total blocks on the night, led by Miller, Kellogg and Asia Stawicka, who all had five apiece.
Tech’s defense lifted the Yellow Jackets to a 25-21 win in the opening set. Roderick and Stawicka each recorded three total blocks and Tech’s back row tallied 17 digs to hold the Seminoles to a .095 hitting clip.
After hitting just .216 in the first set, the Yellow Jackets connected at a .355 efficiency in the second frame, with Miller, Roderick and Kellogg all recording four kills apiece. The Jackets continued their stingy net defense, recording three more blocks in the frame, while the back row equaled its output from the first set with 17 digs.
The Jackets then polished off the Seminoles with a commanding 25-17 win in the third set. Florida State committed nine attacking errors, while the Jackets posted 12 kills to just three errors in the frame for a .310 hitting percentage. Chrissy DeMichelis led the Jackets with three kills on four attempts.
“I am really excited that our team pushed forward and finished the match,” Shymansky added. “That is an area that we have been working on very diligently in practice.
“We aren’t done yet, and we know that defending our home court is the foundation to our capturing an ACC title, so we will have to be ready for a red-hot Miami team tomorrow.”
The Yellow Jackets will host the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Saturday at O’Keefe Gym. The match can be heard on WREK Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta/www.wrek.org) while live stats can be found at Ramblinwreck.com.
