Sept. 24, 2003
Tech Opens 2003 Non-Conference Campaign with 11 Wins
The Yellow Jackets have opened the season with 11 victories and are off to the best start in school history since 1996 when Tech began the year 16-0.
Tech has started this year with 3 wins in the Courtyard by Marriott Classic, sweeping Northwestern, Coastal Carolina and Alabama in route to its fifth Courtyard by Marriott Classic title. The second week of the season, the Jackets defeated Temple and Western Michigan to claim the Buckeye Classic. The third week of the year, the Jackets had the most successful tournament in the program’s history as Tech defeated then No. 17 Michigan State, No. 13 Santa Clara and No. 5 Nebraska to claim the US Bank/Arby’s Invitational.
This past weekend, the Jackets defeated No. 24 Wisconsin, Western Carolina and South Florida to win the Georgia Tech Invitational and claim their fourth tournament title. This marks the second best start in school history as the 1996 team opened the year with a 16-0 record.
Jackets Turn Attention to ACC Schedule
After compiling an 11-0 record to open the season, the volleyball team now turns its attention to the conference portion of its schedule.
Tuesday night, the squad traveled to Raleigh, NC, sweeping the Wolfpack in three games, 30-14, 30-18, and 30-27. In the match, Lauren Sauer recorded 14 kills and Alexandra Preiss followed with 13.
Tech now travels to Chapel Hill, NC, to face the Tar Heels (9-4, 1-0 ACC) Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Carmichael Auditorium.
After the match with the Tar Heels, the Jackets will return home to host Maryland and Virginia on Oct. 3 and 4 at 7 p.m.
Against the Tar Heels
The Tar Heels hold a 25-12 record against the Jackets and enter the match on a two-match win streak having swept Tech last season. Since the 2000 season, the matches have been exciting as in the last six matches, five have gone to the fifth game, with the Tar Heels winning three of them.
Jackets Stay at No. 5
In the 2003 USA Today/AVCA poll for Sept. 22, the Yellow Jackets remained at the No. 5 spot, representing the highest ranking in school history and the highest ranking achieved by any school in the ACC.
Dating back to last season, this marks the 18th consecutive week that Tech has been ranked in the Top 25. For the complete poll listing, log onto www.avca.org.
In the Volleyball Magazine Top 20 poll, the Jackets moved up one and are now ranked 6th.
Eveland In Reach of Career Assist Record
Senior setter Kele Eveland entered the 2003 season needing only 938 assists to surpass former Tech great Andrea Nachtrieb (1993-96) on the career assist list.
Eveland now stands with 5,165 in her career placing her second on the career assist list, well ahead of Margaret Gales (86-89) who recorded 3,432.
With 938 to go and, at her current pace, Eveland should break the record in Tech’s 30th match this season. Look for the record to be broken near the end of the season at the home matches against Georgia or Clemson, or at Disney during the ACC Tournament.
Sauer Tabbed ACC Player of the Week
Lauren Sauer was tabbed this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week after leading the Jackets to three wins over the weekend at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. The outside hitter earned Most Valuable Player honors after compiling 58 kills, averaging 5.27 kills per game, with eight blocks and five digs, and hitting .406.
Against No. 24 Wisconsin, Sauer recorded a career-high 30 kills in the match to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Badgers. In the match, the Huntsville, Ala., native connected on 30 kills in 52 opportunities to finish with a .442 hitting percentage. She also posted three blocks and two digs in the victory.
Come Early and Come Often
Some fans who waited until the last minute to arrive for the match against No. 24 Wisconsin might have been disappointed to learn that they could not obtain a seat in O’Keefe Gymnasium. All told, over 1,400 fans attended the match and well over 200 fans were turned away at the door making it one of the best crowds in school history.
It’s true that close to 100 seats were taken up by television cameras at the match, but the best solution to this problem is for fans to make efforts to come early and secure a seat.
Doors open to the gymnasium appoximately 1 hour before game time.
And in Case you Missed the Match……
Fans who were unable to attend the Sept. 19 match against No. 24 Wisconsin can view Tech’s thrilling come-from-behind win on Sept. 28th at 2 p.m. on Fox Sports Net South.
ACC Standings as of 9/23
TEAM ACC PCT OVERALL PCT
Georgia Tech 1-0 1.000 12-0 1.000 North Carolina 1-0 1.000 9-4 .692 Clemson 0-1 .000 10-6 .625 NC State 0-1 .000 6-8 .429 Virginia 0-0 .000 16-0 1.000 Wake Forest 0-0 .000 10-2 .833 Maryland 0-0 .000 11-3 .786 Florida State 0-0 .000 8-4 .667 Duke 0-0 .000 4-8 .333
ACC Statistical Rankings as of 9/22
TEAM Hit Pct. Georgia Tech .351 Kills Georgia Tech 17.81 Assists Georgia Tech 16.54 Blocks Florida State 3.07 Aces Wake Forest 2.72
INDIVIDUAL
Hit Pct. Christy Williams, Wake Forest .435 Kills Lauren Sauer, Georgia Tech 4.43 Assists Kele Eveland, Georgia Tech 14.32 Blocks Krista Dill, Duke 1.72 Aces Valerie Rydberg, Wake Forest 0.74 Digs Whitney Ashcraft, Virginia 5.32 Digs Duke 19.37
NCAA Statistical Rankings
TEAM
Assists Per Game Georgia Tech 16.54 1st Kills Per Game Georgia Tech 17.81 2nd Hitting Percentage Georgia Tech .351 2nd W/L Percentage Georgia Tech 1.000 t-1st Avg. Attendance Georgia Tech 860 23rd
INDIVIDUAL
Assists Per Game Kele Eveland 14.50 1stHitting Percentage Lauren Sauer .422 19th Alexandra Preiss .395 25th Jayme Gergen .387 29th
