Nov. 18, 2006
ATLANTA – Lindsey Gray posted her fourth-consecutive double-double with 16 kills and 20 digs to lead Georgia Tech (20-10, 12-8 ACC) to a 3-2 (30-21, 26-30, 30-15, 26-30, 15-8) win over Maryland (11-18, 4-16 ACC) Saturday night at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
The victory was the Yellow Jackets’ ninth-straight, and Georgia Tech has won 12 of its last 14 matches to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive after beginning conference play 0-6.
Callie Miller continued her stellar play, hitting .500 while recording 13 kills, three total blocks, two assists and a dig, while Talisa Kellogg added 14 kills and a pair of blocks against the Terrapins.
Ulrike Stegemann was solid on the right side for the Yellow Jackets, posting 12 kills and nine digs on the night.
Anchoring the Yellow Jacket defense was senior libero Abby Showers, who finished with a match-high 22 digs while adding a pair of service aces, while junior Nikki Kaminskas led Tech’s blocking efforts with a total of six on the night.
Sophomore setter Allie Niekamp had 52 assists in the five-game match, while also recording five digs, four service aces, four kills and two block assists.
As a team, the Jackets had a total of 10 blocks and 13 service aces versus the Terps.
With game one tied at 8-8, the Terrapins went on a 6-0 run, capped by a kill from Beth Gillming, before Tech responded with a 12-1 run of its own, which gave the Jackets the 20-15 edge midway through. Tech finished off the first game winning 30-21, led by Stegemann and Kellogg, who had four and six kills, respectively.
After Tech pulled ahead 20-19 in game two, the Terrapins used a 9-0 run to take control at 28-20, and then held off a late Georgia Tech comeback bid to even the match at 1-1 with a 30-26 win. Maryland hit .205 and had eight block assists in the game while the Jackets managed just .077.
Tech made an early statement in the third game, winning 15 of the first 18 points before cruising to an easy 30-15 victory to take the 2-1 edge in the match. Gray had four kills and five digs, while the Jackets recorded five of their 13 service aces in the game.
Maryland responded in game number four, hitting .368 while posting eight block assists and another solo block while the Jackets managed just .163. With the score at 23-20 in favor of the home team, the Terrapins put together a 12-3 run to end the game, winning 30-26 to set up a deciding game five.
After falling behind 2-1 in game five, the Jackets took control with a 6-0 run, receiving kills from Stegemann, Kaminskas and Niekamp, and a service ace from Stephanie Robbins. A pair of Terrapin kills pulled Maryland to within four at 9-5, but Tech won five of the next seven points before going on to win 15-8, for their seventh five-game victory in 2006.
The Terps’ Jade Brown had 19 kills and 14 digs to lead the visitors on the night, while Katie Usher recorded 12 total blocks against the Yellow Jackets.
Tech concludes the season next weekend when they host Virginia Tech and Virginia Friday and Saturday nights. The Jackets and Hokies will square off at 7 p.m. Friday before the Jackets take on UVa Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
