Nov. 27, 2003
Prior to the announcement of the 2003 NCAA Tournament bracket, the No. 9 Georgia Tech volleyball team travels out west to participate in the Baden Thanksgiving Tournament hosted by Long Beach State University in Long Beach, Calif.
The Yellow Jackets (30-2) begin the tournament on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET against host Long Beach State. Tech will then conclude the tournament, facing San Jose State Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
All matches will be played at The Pyramid and can be heard live at www.longbeachstate.com.
“I really felt that as we head into our final weekend of matches that it would be important to play tough competition and see a different type of style of play,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “In additon, we have two players on our roster from the state of California in Marisa Aston and Jennifer Randall and I like to schedule tournaments that give our players a chance to play in front of their home crowd.”
Friday’s match against Long Beach State (17-9) marks the second time the two teams have met. In 1997, the Jackets fell to the 49ers in three games at The Pyramid.
“Long Beach State has a ton of tradition and is known for their program and we want the opportunity to play against a program like that,” said Shymansky. “Even though they maybe haven’t had the type of success that they normally do, The Pyramid is one of the toughest places to play in the country and I expect their team to be really hungry to play us.”
On Saturday, San Jose State (10-18) and Tech will face one another for the first time in school history.
“We have never seen San Jose State but do know that they advanced to the finals of their conference tournament and are a hot team at the end of the season right now,” said Shymansky. “They are a team tends to be more dynamic offensively, similar to us, and we should match up well against them.”
“Obviously, this weekend is going to be competitive and a chance for us to fine tune some things as we conclude our regular season,” said Shymansky. “It’s very important for us to not only play well, but also accomplish is a good sense of unity and momentum as we prepare for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.”
