Nov. 6, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s volleyball team, which stands in a three-way tie for second place in this week’s ACC standings, will head north for the first of two straight weekends on the road when it travels to Winston Salem, N.C. this Friday. That evening, the Yellow Jackets square off against Wake Forest (16-9, 7-6 ACC) at 7 p.m. before traveling to Durham to meet Duke (18-7, 9-4 ACC) at 7 p.m. Saturday. Over the next two weeks, the Yellow Jackets (17-6, 9-4 ACC) will face one team that is currently tied for second in the league standings (Duke) and another which ranks just behind the second place trio (Miami). The Yellow Jackets conclude the regular season by hosting league-leader and reigning ACC champion Clemson Nov. 28.
The Yellow Jackets are 6-1 over their last seven matches, winning all six of those matches by 3-0 scores. Tech’s only defeat during that run came on the road at North Carolina, the third team with a 9-4 record in conference play. With the change to this year’s schedule, the Tar Heels are one of two ACC teams the Jackets won’t play twice in 2008.
This Weekend’s Matches:
Friday: Georgia Tech at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Georgia Tech at Duke, 7 p.m.
Georgia Tech’s offense is run by setter Allie Niekamp (10.10 Aps/2.24 Dps/0.71 Bps/0.38 SAps) and led by outside hitter Talisa Kellogg (3.86 Kps/1.64 Dps/0.68 Bps) and middle hitter Callie Miller (.362, 2.77 Kps/1.17 Bps). The Jackets’ defense is anchored by senior libero Michelle Kandell (4.46 Dps).
Game Coverage: Fans can go to Ramblinwreck.com to follow Gametracker (Wake Forest) and live stats (Duke) for this weekend’s matches.
Tech vs. the Opponents (Duke leads Tech, 33-19, Tech leads Wake, 23-8)
Entering the season, the Yellow Jackets had split the last four matches with the Blue Devils, with each team winning on its respective home court in 2006 and 2007. Tech hopes to extend that streak to six matches this weekend after Duke won a 3-2 match against the Yellow Jackets at O’Keefe Gym earlier this season to improve to 33-19 all-time against Georgia Tech. Tech is 8-6 against the Blue Devils under head coach Bond Shymansky, but only two of those wins have come away from home.
The Yellow Jackets are 23-8 all-time against Wake Forest and hold a sterling 12-2 record against the Demon Deacons under Shymansky. Tech has won four in a row against the Deacs, with the last loss coming in Winston-Salem to open the 2006 campaign.
Callie Miller National Top Performer this Week
Following a strong weekend at home, where Tech posted matching 3-0 wins against Virginia Tech (who, at the time, stood atop the conference standings) and Virginia, Callie Miller received national recognition as one of the top-10 national performers of the week, as announced by Collegiate Volleyball Update. The Whitehouse, Ohio native was passed over for ACC Player of the Week honors following a stellar weekend performance in which she hit .528 with 3.67 kills, 1.50 blocks, 1.17 digs and 0.33 service aces per game while recording the 1,000th kill of her career, but was one of 10 players in the nation to be tabbed to CVU.com’s “Top Performers” list for November 3.
Niekamp Named Academic All-District
See the complete release by going to: http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/110608aaa.html
The Chase is On
Yellow Jacket head coach Bond Shymansky, in just his seventh season at the helm of the Georgia Tech volleyball program, has already posted 93 career ACC victories and needs just seven more league wins in his next 19 matches to become the fastest coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history to reach the 100-ACC win plateau. The Tech head coach could reach that mark this season, as there are seven ACC matches remaining on the Yellow Jackets’ 2008 schedule.
Only six head coaches have ever eclipsed 100 ACC wins in the league’s history, with three of those still coaching within the conference this season.
Yellow Jackets Ranked Nationally
Georgia Tech leads the league in kills and assists per set and among the top 25 in the nation in both categories. The Yellow Jackets’ 13.10 assists per set stands 17th in the country while the 13.98 kills per set ranks 21st. Georgia Tech also stands among the top half of the league in hitting percentage (2nd), blocks per set (2nd) and service aces per set (3rd) and among the top-25 in the nation in two of the three categories. The Jackets’ 2.61 blocks per set stands 21st in the nation while their .263 hitting percentage ranks 24th.
Talisa Kellogg currently ranks among the top-50 in the nation (43rd) while leading the league in kills per set while her 4.22 kills per set in ACC matches is also tops among all league hitters. Callie Miller stands among the top-50 in the nation in two categories – ranking 40th with a .362 hitting percentage and 47th with 1.17 blocks per set.
All of Tech’s league and national standings are located on page four of the game notes.
Complete Release in PDF Format
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