Oct. 28, 2006
ATLANTA – Talisa Kellogg and Lindsey Gray combined for 40 kills to lead Georgia Tech (13-10, 5-8 ACC) to a 3-1 (30-25, 30-27, 25-30, 30-25) victory over Wake Forest (11-11, 7-6 ACC) Saturday night at O’Keefe Gymnasium. The win is the Yellow Jackets’ fifth in the last seven matches, after they began the conference portion of their schedule 0-6.
“We were running on empty tonight, after our hard-fought victory over Duke on Friday,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bond Shymansky, “but our team gutted it out and found a way to win. Lindsey Gray proved to be our spark plug tonight, with big kills at crucial times. She also anchored our team in service receptions and did a tremendous job, defensively.”
Gray recorded her second-straight double-double, finishing with a career-high 21 kills and a match-high 15 digs, while sophomore setter Allie Niekamp posted her third-consecutive double-double with 54 assists and 12 digs in the match.
Senior libero Abby Showers posted 13 digs, while rightside hitter Ulrike Stegemann added 12. Sophomore Callie Miller, along with Niekamp, led Tech’s blocking efforts, recording four total blocks apiece on the night.
Tied at 25-25, the Yellow Jackets closed out game one on a 5-0 run, which included kills by Lindsey Gray and Ulrike Stegemann, as well as three attack errors by the Demon Deacons, to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Talisa Kellogg led the Jackets with five kills in the game, while the Deacs were led by Jessica Furlong and Natalie Mullikin, who had four apiece.
Georgia Tech concluded the second game much the same way it did the first, by winning nine of the final 12 points after falling behind 25-21. Kellogg again led the Jackets, hitting .353 while recording eight of the team’s 16 kills in the game, while Abby Showers recorded a game-high six digs.
Trailing 17-14 in game three, the Demon Deacons used a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game and didn’t let up, finishing with a 30-25 win to avoid the match sweep. The Deacs hit .359 and were led by Furlong, who had eight kills, while Gray paced Tech with nine kills while hitting .368.
After falling behind 21-14 in the fourth game, Wake Forest used a 6-0 run to pull within one point, but the Jackets responded by winning four of the next five points to take a 25-21 lead. Georgia Tech closed out the match with a 5-2 run, which included kills by Niekamp and Gray, to win 30-25.
“We still have things that we need to improve on, and we’re going to work hard this week to make sure that we can carry this momentum on the road with us,” added Shymansky.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action next weekend when they travel to Florida for a pair of ACC matches. Tech will meet the University of Miami in Coral Gables Friday at 4 p.m. before heading to Tallahasee for a match at Florida State Sunday at 1 p.m. Livestats for both matches can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
**The Georgia Tech-North Carolina volleyball match will be aired on Turner South Sunday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. ET, Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. ET.
