Oct. 19, 2002
Behind the hitting of Lauren Sauer, who had 21 kills and five block assists and Jayme Gergen who had 11 kills and a career high eight block assists, the No. 20 Georgia Tech volleyball team defeated Wake Forest in four games, 30-27, 30-26, 28-30, 30-25. With the win, the Jackets improve to 20-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference while the Demon Deacons fall to 10-11, 4-4 ACC.
The Jackets had a steady offensive attack, outhitting the Demon Deacons .287 to .210 and also were effective defensively, posting 56 digs to Wake’s 49 and outblocking their opponent 15 to six. Offensively, Blair Moon had 14 kills and Alexandra Preiss posted a .368 percentage. Defensively, Moon and Kele Eveland each led the team with 11 digs while Jennifer Randall and Marisa Aston each chipped in 10. Preiss recorded a career high four solo blocks while Laura Kuhn had three block assists. Eveland ran the offense recording 43 assists in the match.
“It’s so important to win on the road in the ACC and tonight’s victory over a very strong Wake Forest team is an important building block at this point in the season,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “Kele Eveland did a masterful job of spreading our offense and leading our team with her intensity. Blair Moon keeps improving every game and was a key to our win tonight. However, Lauren Sauer put on a offensive clinic with key kills at crucial points in the match. Lynnette Moster is healthy but we wanted to make a statement as a team that we can play together and succeed under any circumstance. Tonight is a very proud night for our staff.”
In the opening game, the two teams kept the match tight. Wake Forest took a lead at 15-13 on a setting miscue from Eveland and a kill from Sara Beth DeLisle. The Jackets tied the score at 15 on a serving error from Christy Williams and a hitting error from Kim Stern. The Demon Deacons forced the Jackets into a timeout leading 24-20, but Tech responded with six straight points on kills from Laura Kuhn and Blair Moon and a service ace from Kele Eveland forcing Wake Forest to take a timeout. Alexandra Priess then recorded a solo block and Blair Moon recorded a kill giving Tech a 28-24 lead. A kill from Kuhn gave Tech game one, 30-27. In the game, the Jackets recorded a .344 hitting percentage as Moon and Preiss each tallied four kills. Eveland tallied 14 assists and Aston notched five digs in the game.
Tech opened the second game building a commanding 7-1 lead on several unforced errors by the Deacons and kills from Jayme Gergen, Sauer and a solo block from Alexandra Preiss. Wake Forest came back and pulled to within 24-25 on a hitting error from Kuhn and a kill from Ashley Fisher. Fisher then recorded a service error and a hitting error and gave Tech a 27-24 lead. The Demon Deacons scored on a service error by Moon and a hitting error from Kuhn to pull to within 26-27. The Jackets immediately answered with a kill from Gergen and two from Sauer to take game two 30-27.
Wake Forest built a 9-5 lead in game three, but Tech fought back with kills from Moon and Gergen and Sauer and a ball handling error from Phillips to tie the score at 11. A block from Sauer and Gergen and a block from Gergen and Kuhn gave Tech a 17-15 lead and forced Wake Forest to take a timeout. The Demon Deacons came back with a kill from Rydberg and a hitting error from Kuhn to tie the game at 17. Three kills from Wake and a ball handling error from Eveland gave the Demon Deacons a 25-22 lead and forced Tech to call a timeout. The Jackets came back with kills from Sauer and Gergen to pull within 24-25, but Williams responded with a kill giving Wake a 26-24 lead. Two kills from Stern gave the Demon Deacons the game, 30-28.
In the final game of the match, Wake Forest led 11-13, but a kill and a solo block from Moon allowed Tech to tie the game at 13. With the score 21-20, a great scramble play on defense by the Jackets finished on a kill from Moon gave the Jackets a 22-20 lead. The Jackets would never look back, scoring on kills from Eveland, Sauer and a solo block from Preiss, to win the game, 30-25.
The Jackets return to action Friday when they play host to Virginia at 7 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
