Sept. 28, 2002
Lynnette Moster had 12 kills and hit .480 as the No. 25 Georgia Tech volleyball team won its eighth consecutive match by defeating Virginia in three games, 30-19, 30-18, 30-18. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 16-2, 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while the Cavaliers fall to 6-11, 0-2 ACC.
“It’s always tough to win on the road, but we executed very well tonight as an entire team,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “Virginia will continue to improve, especially as their starting setter recovers and gets back in the lineup. Our focus tonight was ball control and we were able to maintain that focus all the way through the match. Our whole lineup contributed tonight including solid performances from Kele, Lynnette, Jayme and Alexandra. The recent fire in Lauren Sauer has also added another dimension to our offense.
Offensively, the Jackets were led by Jayme Gergen who had eight kills and hit .636, followed by Alexandra Preiss who had seven kills and hit .375. As a team, the Jackets hit .422 while holding the Cavaliers to a .058 hitting percentage. Defensively, Keight Vincent and Marisa Aston each chipped in nine digs.
The Jackets started off strong, scoring five consecutive points on kills from Gergen, Moster and a stuff block from Gergen and Eveland to take a 5-1 lead. The Cavaliers closed the game to 5-6 on a kill from Katie Synan and a service ace from Simona Kuipers, but Tech came back with a kill from Preiss to lead 7-5. Behind strong defense and good offensive production, Tech won game one, 30-19. The Jackets dominated the game, hitting .469 as a team and recording only one hitting error. In the game, Moster and Preiss each recorded five kills while Kele Eveland notched six digs.
Game two opened with both teams sideing out consistently. With the score tied at 5-5, a service error by the Cavaliers and a hitting error by Celeste Laborde gave Tech a 7-5 lead. Tech would never look back, continuing to score points strings of points on Virginia errors and winning the game, 30-18. The Jackets’ offense continued to dominate, outhitting the Cavaliers in the game .385 to .111. In the game, Lauren Sauer and Gergen each recorded four kills while Moster had three and Eveland tallied 11 assists.
In game three, Tech continued to dominate, recording only three hitting errors in the game. With the score 10-10, Gergen recorded two straight kills and a service ace, giving the Jackets a 14-11 lead. A block from Preiss and Sauer then gave Tech a 17-11 lead. Tech maintained control of the match and went on to win the game, 30-18 scoring the final point of the match on a stuff block from Gergen and Lindsey Laband.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action next when they host three consecutive conference matches. The action will begin Tuesday against NC State at 7 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. Saturday at 8 p.m. Tech will host No. 15 North Carolina followed by a 3 p.m. match against Florida State on Sunday. For ticket information, please call 1-888-TECH-TIX.
