Oct. 14, 2002
With a 5-1 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the No. 20 Georgia Tech volleyball team (19-3) travels to take on conference rival Duke (15-6, 3-3 ACC) Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Yellow Jackets enter Tuesday’s match on a two-match win streak, having recently claimed two five-game victories over Clemson and Florida State.
Tuesday’s match marks the 39th meeting between the Blue Devils and the Jackets, with Duke holding the edge, 27-11. The Blue Devils defeated the Jackets in both of their meetings last season, and has won the last three meetings against Tech.
“Duke has a very solid middle attack and right now they are searching for outside hitters to replace the two that graduated and that’s tough to do in our conference,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “What I see happening with them is that they keep getting better and better as the season progresses. The biggest thing for us is that they put up a very big block so we need to keep running our offense with speed and executing our passing so that we can run our offense.”
The Jackets will be playing without their top player, Lynnette Moster (Liberty, Ind.), who suffered a severe ankle sprain against North Carolina on Oct. 6. Inserted in her place will be freshman Blair Moon (Missouri City, Texas), who in her two matches as a starter has averaged 2.6 kills per game and 3.1 digs per game and helped the Jackets to two victories.
“Without Lynnette, we’re just relying on our new lineup,” said Shymansky. “We’ve gotten two matches under our belt with our new lineup and several successful practices, and we feel highly confident against whoever we play.”
In Moster’s absence, the Yellow Jackets have been led by Jayme Gergen (Topeka, Kansas) and Kele Eveland (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Gergen currently is ranked fifth in the conference in hitting percentage (.333) and seventh in blocks per game (1.08). In the two matches without Moster, Gergen has recorded a .373 hitting percentage, 2.9 kills per game and 1.1 blocks per game. Eveland has averaged 11.6 assists per game, 3.1 digs per game, and 1.1 blocks per game with Moster unable to play.
“It’s going to be tough for us to go up there and win on the road, especially at Duke,” said Shymansky. “They beat us twice last year, and I know our team has a lot of intensity stored up for this match. They want a little bit of revenge, but I know that Duke is not just going to hand it to us so we are going to have to work hard.”
