Nov. 26, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech will wrap up regular season play this Friday when it hosts Clemson (21-9, 13-6 ACC) for a 4 p.m. match at O’Keefe Gym. The Yellow Jackets (20-9, 12-7 ACC) opened the 20-match ACC schedule with a 3-2 win at Clemson and look to have the same success in their final league match of the season.
The Yellow Jackets and Tigers are both coming off 2-0 weekends in which they defeated Maryland and Boston College. The Jackets completed a pair of 3-0 sweeps while Clemson won by 3-1 (Maryland) and 3-0 (Boston College) scores.
Clemson is currently in a three-way tie for third place in the latest league standings at 13-6, while the Yellow Jackets are one match back at 12-7. Duke and North Carolina lead the league with 14-5 ACC records.
Georgia Tech’s offense is run by setter Allie Niekamp (10.15 Aps/2.24 Dps/0.63 Bps/0.37 SAps) and led by outside hitter Talisa Kellogg (3.62 Kps/1.68 Dps/0.63 Bps) and middle hitter Callie Miller (.376, 2.82 Kps/1.11 Bps). The Jackets’ defense is anchored by senior libero Michelle Kandell (4.51 Dps).
Game Coverage: Live stats can be found at Ramblinwreck.com.
Tech vs. the Opponents (Clemson leads Tech, 27-20)
Georgia Tech is 20-27 all-time against Clemson, but 9-4 versus the Tigers under Bond Shymansky following a 3-2 victory at Jervey Gym in Clemson to open the conference season. The Yellow Jackets will try to lock up their first regular season sweep over the Tigers since 2005 this weekend. The two teams split the season series in 2006, and Clemson took two from the Jackets a year ago but Tech snapped that losing streak by holding on after winning the first two sets against the Tigers to capture a five-set victory in Clemson. Georgia Tech has won 13 of the last 17 matches against the Tigers, including six of the last seven at O’Keefe Gym.
Tech-Clemson Connections
– Georgia Tech has no player on its roster from South Carolina, but Clemson has one player on its roster from the Peach State in freshman Morgann Mitchell of Peachtree City.
– INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: When Tech and Clemson meet Friday, a total of three players from across the Atlantic Ocean will be on the court. Yellow Jacket freshman middle Asia Stawica hails from Warsaw, Poland, while Clemson’s defensive specialist Didem Ege and outside hitter Cansu Ozdemir are Istanbul, Turkey, natives.
– SUNSHINE STATE STUDS: Between the Yellow Jacket and Tiger rosters, a total of three players hail from the state of Florida, including Tech junior Brittany Roderick (Orlando), Clemson senior Danielle Hepburn (Miami) and Tiger freshman Brooke Kohler (Jupiter).
– TWO of 12K: Yellow Jacket freshman and 2008 Hendersonville High School graduate Bailey Hunter is from Hendersonville, N.C., a town with a population of 12,499 in the southern part of North Carolina. Also from Hendersonville is Clemson freshman Brittany Fennell, who played at West Hendersonville High School – 4.7 miles away from Hendersonville HS.
– ALL IN THE FAMILY: Freshman outside hitter Bailey Hunter’s uncle, Rutledge Livingston, played football at Clemson from 1975-77.
