Aug. 24, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Lindsey Gray and Talisa Kellogg posted double-doubles and Ulrike Stegemann recorded a team-high 16 kills to lead Georgia Tech (2-0) to a 3-1 (30-21, 30-23, 21-30, 30-25) victory over Arkansas (0-1) in the third game of the Arkansas Clarion Inn Invitational.
The Jackets enter the final day of the tournament with just one match remaining, as they meet 2006 NCAA participant Pepperdine Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at Barnhill Arena on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
“We came out on fire tonight and, after a lull in game three, really asserted our team will to get a significant win,” head coach Bond Shymansky said. “We prepared all preseason to come here and beat Pitt and Arkansas, and now we get to turn our focus to Pepperdine, who is clearly the strongest team here at the tournament.”
Gray hit .360 with 13 kills and 11 digs, and Kellogg added 11 kills and 11 digs against the Lady Backs. Stegemann had three digs and a pair of block assists to go along with her 16 kills and .324 hitting clip.
“Ulli was virtually unstoppable and Lindsey Gray showed her all-around ability tonight,” Shymansky said. “Michelle Kandell also backed up an impressive morning performance with an even better defensive performance tonight.”
After posting a career-high 17 digs against Pittsburgh in the early match of the day, Kandell had 23 of the Jackets’ 65 total digs on the night.
Erin Birmingham led Tech’s blocking defense, recording six total blocks against the Lady Backs, while Kellogg added three block assists.
Tech used a 4-0 run to take a 5-2 lead early in the match and rattled off three other runs of four or more consecutive points to cruise to a 30-21 win in game one against the Lady Backs. The Jackets hit .306 and were aided by 13 Arkansas errors in the Lady Backs’ first game of the 2007 season.
Serving was the difference in game two, as the Jackets posted a pair of service aces to just one serving error while Arkansas had five service errors and no aces in the frame. Trailing 7-4, the Jackets used a pair of kills by Kellogg and Brittany Roderick, an attack error by the Lady Backs’ Heather Royal and a service ace from Kandell to take a lead which they wouldn’t relinquish, as they went on to win 30-23.
With a slim one-point lead halfway through the third game, the Lady Backs won five-straight points on three kills, a service ace and a Yellow Jacket attacking error to take a 20-14 lead and held on for a 30-21 win to avoid the sweep by Georgia Tech. Arkansas hit a match-high .324 and recorded eight block assists in the game, while the Jackets managed no blocks and just a .149 hitting clip.
Trailing 12-11, the Yellow Jackets won 11 of the next 13 points and held on for a 30-21 game win and a 3-1 match victory over the talented Arkansas team. Stegemann paced the Tech offense in the frame, posting five kills while hitting .444, and Birmingham led the Jackets’ net defense, posting two of her six total kills in the final game.
See Lindsey Gray’s take on the match by clicking HERE!
