Nov. 9, 2007
ATLANTA – Michelle Kandell posted 16 digs en route to becoming the Yellow Jackets’ single-season record holder in Georgia Tech’s 3-0 (30-23, 32-30, 30-18) sweep of Wake Forest Friday night at O’Keefe Gym. With the victory, the Yellow Jackets (19-9, 13-5 ACC) remain in third place in the ACC standings while Wake Forest drops to 7-20 and 4-14 in conference play.
Needing just one dig to set the new Georgia Tech record, Kandell notched 16 to push her 2007 total to 538 and is one of just five players in school history to have recorded at least 500 in a season.
Chrissy DeMichelis led the Georgia Tech offense by hitting .387 while posting 17 kills in addition to recording three total blocks on the night. Talisa Kellogg joined the sophomore in double figures, recording 14 kills, three blocks and three digs against the Deacs.
Jordan McCullers added 14 digs and Ulrike Stegemann notched 13 digs and three total blocks for the Jackets. Callie Miller led Tech with six block assists.
The Jackets opened the match by winning eight of the first 11 points and cruised to a 30-23 victory in game one behind the defense of Kandell, who had six of Tech’s 27 digs in the frame. Miller had a game-high three blocks while Stegemann led the Jackets’ offense with four kills in the frame.
Tech opened the second game on a 5-0 run and extended its lead to 12-2 by adding six unanswered points before being forced to hold off a late Wake Forest rally for a 32-30 win. The Deacs tied the game at 28-28 on back-to-back blocks by Lauren McIntyre but, after trading the next four points, the Jackets received back-to-back kills from Stegemann and DeMichelis for the two-point win.
Leading 14-9 in the final frame, Georgia Tech scored 14 of the next 18 points and held on for the 30-18 win by hitting .275 while holding the Demon Deacons to a .051 hitting clip.
Natalie Mullikin led Wake with 14 kills while Michael Faulkner tallied 12 digs on the night.
Tech will remain in Atlanta through next weekend, when they host Florida State and Miami in the final home matches of the regular season. The Jackets and Seminoles will square off Friday at 7 p.m., and the match can be followed on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv) and WREK Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta/www.wrek.org). Saturday’s match between Tech and Miami will also begin at 7 p.m. and can be heard on WREK. Live stats for both matches can be found at RamblinWreck.com.
