April 24, 2002
Playing against some of the top teams in California, the Georgia Tech volleyball team closed out its spring practice in fine fashion winning three out of four matches. In the tournament, the Jackets defeated Santa Barbara, Cal-Riverside and San Francisco, before falling to powerhouse Pepperdine in two close matches.
After finishing tied for second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, and being ranked #26 nationally in the NCAA final RPI rankings, Tech returns four starters to a team which finished the season at 19-8 and fell in the first-round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
Leading the way for Tech this spring were 2001 all-ACC selections Kele Eveland, Lynnette Moster and Lauren Sauer and freshman Laura Kuhn.
“I thought each of those players had a very impressive spring season. Kele continues to lead our team on and off the court, Lauren is starting to feel more natural on the court in the outside hitting position, Lynnette is starting to become a very dominant player in every aspect of her game, and it was great to see the development of Laura as a middle blocker,” said head coach Bond Shymansky.
According to Shymansky, it was not only the play of the usual stars for Tech that resulted in such an impressive spring season, but the solid play of many other players that made the difference.
“The biggest goal that we had this spring was for the team to get a rhythm and a feel for what the new coaching staff was going to be like,” said Shymansky. “I was very pleased with the results as I see each member of our team playing with a high energy level and improving a little each day that we step into the gym.”
“It was great to end our spring season with such a successful tournament,” said Shymansky. “This will give us a great deal of momentum as we look forward to a great season this fall.”
Shymansky will reassemble the team on August 5 to begin practice for the 2002 season. The Jackets open their season on Aug. 30 against NCAA participant Northern Iowa.
