Nov. 17, 2006
ATLANTA – Lindsey Gray pounded out 21 kills and Abby Showers recorded 21 digs to lead Georgia Tech (19-10, 11-8 ACC) to a 3-1 (33-35, 30-27, 30-17, 30-25) victory over Boston College (10-18, 8-11 ACC) Friday night at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets extend their winning streak to eight games and have won 11 of their last 13 matches since starting conference play 0-6.
“It’s another great win for us,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bond Shymansky. “Our outside hitters come up big and our defense and block really turned it on as the match progressed. Boston College’s defense and ball control really gave us fits tonight, but we move one step closer to our goal this season. Now we have to go and prepare for a really tough Maryland team that is on the rise.”
Gray posted her team-leading 14th double-double of the season with 21 kills and 13 digs against the Eagles, while she also added four assists and a service ace. Sophomore Talisa Kellogg was just as dominating from her outside hitter position, recording 18 kills, three digs and two block assists on the night, and Ulrike Stegemann was the only other Yellow Jacket in double-figures, as she posted 10 kills to go along with six digs, two service aces and two block assists.
Nikki Kaminskas led Tech’s blocking efforts with six total blocks on the night, while setter Allie Niekamp recorded 51 assists to go along with seven digs, seven kills and four blocks for the Jackets.
Trailing 28-26, the Yellow Jackets tied the first game at 28-28 on a kill by Kellogg and a block by Miller and Niekamp, and then proceeded to exchange the next eight points with the Eagles before taking a 33-32 lead on a ball handling error by the BC setter, Brittany Pierpont. Tech couldn’t hang on for the win however, as the Jackets had a pair of attack errors before a service ace by Shardai Davis gave the Eagles a 35-33 win in game one.
With the second game tied at 23-23, Tech used a 5-0 run, which included a pair of kills by Allie Niekamp and another by Lindsey Gray, to take a 28-23 lead. A kill by Davis pulled the Eagles to within four, but the Jackets received a kill from Miller, which gave Tech the 29-24 edge. A pair of attack errors by the Jackets and a kill by Kelsey Johnson let BC pull within two at 29-27, but a Gray kill gave Tech the 30-27 win, tying the match at 1-1.
After Boston College tied the third game at 14-14 on a service ace by Johnson, her third of the match, Tech won 16 of the next 19 points, cruising to a 30-17 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Yellow Jackets hit .305 and had four total blocks in the game, while the Eagles hit just .059.
Tech jumped out to a 16-9 lead in the fourth game behind the play of Gray and Kellogg, who had six kills apiece, and then held on for the 30-25 victory.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Saturday evening when they host Maryland at 7 p.m. at O’Keefe Gymnasium. Live video of the match can be found on ACC Select (gatech.playonsports.tv) while the match can also be heard on WREK-Radio, 91.1 FM in Atlanta and online at www.wrek.org. Livestats for all Georgia Tech sporting events can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
