Oct. 8, 2006
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Kelsey Johnson had 20 kills and Dorota Niemczewska added 18 to lead Boston College (6-10, 4-3 ACC) to a 3-1 (30-26, 30-21, 26-30, 30-25) victory over Georgia Tech (8-8, 0-6 ACC) Sunday at the Conte Forum on the campus of Boston College.
After dropping the first two games, the Yellow Jackets won the third game, 30-26, and then led early in game four, but couldn’t fight off the Eagles, as Boston College won the fourth frame, 30-25.
Georgia Tech had four players in double figures in kills on the night, including Talisa Kellogg, who had a team-high 15, and Nikki Kaminskas, who had 11 while hitting a team-best .350.
Three Yellow Jackets – Lindsey Gray, Ulrike Stegemann and Allie Niekamp – posted double-doubles on the afternoon, as Gray had a team-high 16 digs and 14 kills, Stegemann recorded 12 kills to go along with 11 digs, and Niekamp posted 47 assists and 13 kills.
Rookie Erin Birmingham led the Jackets’ defense at the net, recording six block assists, while Niekamp added five on the afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets took an early 12-7 lead in game one, but the Eagles responded with six-straight points to take a 13-12 lead with an attack error by Ulrike Stegemann. Tech took the lead back at 15-13 with a pair of kills by Stegemann and an attack error by BC, and held a two-point lead at 26-24 before the Eagles rattled off six straight points to end the game at 30-26. Overall there were 14 tie scored and seven lead changes in the first game.
The Eagles won the second frame in similar fashion, taking five of the last six points, including four in a row after the Jackets had pulled within 25-20 on a service ace by Erin Birmingham. After Boston College opened the game with a 5-2 run, the Jackets earned the lead back on a pair of kills by Nikki Kaminskas, block assists by Kaminskas and Lindsey Gray, and a ball handling error by the Eagles. The lead was short-lived however, as BC went on a 4-0 run and never looked back, winning the second game, 30-21.
Trailing 13-8 in game three, the Yellow Jackets went on a 11-2 run to take a 19-15 lead and then extended it to 21-16 with a kill by Talisa Kellogg and a service ace by Michelle Kandell. The Eagles pulled within three on a pair of errors by Georgia Tech, and then cut the score to 27-26 with three consecutive kills, but Tech finished off the game with a pair of kills by Allie Niekamp and Nikki Kaminskas and a block by Kaminskas to win the game, 30-26.
With the Yellow Jackets leading 11-10 in game four, BC went on a 6-0 run to take the lead at 16-11, and then extended their lead to 20-13 with an attack error by the Jackets and a kill and service ace by the Eagles. Tech would pull within one point at 22-21, but BC won five of the next seven points to extend their lead back to four at 27-23 following a kill and block by the Eagles and then finished off the game, 30-25.
Tech will return to action next weekend in Atlanta, hosting North Carolina and NC State on Friday and Saturday night. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. and can be found on WREK-Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta, and online at www.wrek.org. Livestats for all Georgia Tech matches can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
