Aug. 7, 2007
ATLANTA – With just over two weeks before the start of the 2007 volleyball season, Georgia Tech will hold its first practice of the fall Wednesday morning at O’Keefe Gym.
“There is still a lot of excitement building around our team, and I know that they are anxious to get out there and see what they can do,” head coach Bond Shymansky said Tuesday as the players reported to campus.
The Yellow Jackets enter the 2007 season returning 12 of 13 players, including seniors Ulrike Stegemann, Lindsey Gray and Nikki Kaminskas, from the 2006 squad that finished 20-12. The senior trio begins their final season on the Flats looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since advancing to the Sweet-16 their freshman year, and have the players in place to do just that.
“The biggest difference (from last season to this year) is the overall maturity level and stronger mindset (entering this season) for accomplishing something great,” Shymansky said. “Some people would call that seniority. We have a lot of returning starters now, so I think we’ve created more seniority within our team. But I also see a maturity among our players for understanding what the workload is, what the output should be, and what the effort level should be entering this season.”
The team will practice twice a day over the next week before opening the gym for Volleyball Fan Photo Day Saturday, August 18. The Jackets will begin warming up at 10 a.m. that morning and scrimmage from 11 a.m. – noon before signing autographs post-scrimmage. There will be posters, signing cards and schedule cards available for all fans in attendance and admission is free.
Georgia Tech will open its 2007 campaign the following weekend when it travels to the Arkansas Invitational, where the Yellow Jackets will face Pittsburgh, Arkansas and Pepperdine, before hosing Western Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Kentucky in the Regency Suites/Georgia Tech Classic the following weekend. For a complete copy of the Georgia Tech volleyball schedule, click here.
